U.S. soldiers who speak up about the sexual abuse of children in Afghanistan risk losing their careers


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Intervening in the sexual abuse of children is a punishable offense for U.S. soldiers and Marines working in Afghanistan, even when the abusers are American allies, The New York Times reports. The practice of sexual abuse, called bacha bazi, or "boy play," has upset many U.S. soldiers based in Afghanistan, though they are told "to look the other way because it's their culture" in response to concerns and complaints.
The American policy of nonintervention is intended to maintain good relations with the Afghan police and militia units the United States has trained to fight the Taliban. It also reflects a reluctance to impose cultural values in a country where pederasty is rife, particularly among powerful men, for whom being surrounded by young teenagers can be a mark of social status.Some soldiers believed that the policy made sense, even if they were personally distressed at the sexual predation they witnessed or heard about."The bigger picture was fighting the Taliban," a former Marine lance corporal reflected. "It wasn't to stop molestation." [The New York Times]
"The reason we were here is because we heard the terrible things the Taliban were doing to people, how they were taking away human rights," a former Special Forces captain, Dan Quinn, told the Times. "But we were putting people into power who would do things that were worse than the Taliban did — that was something village elders voiced to me."
Captain Quinn assaulted a U.S.-backed commander who kept a boy chained to his bed as a sex slave. As a result, Quinn was relieved of his command and pulled from Afghanistan. He has since left the military. Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, who assisted Captain Quinn in beating up the alleged child abuser, is now resisting being kicked out of the army. "The Army contends that Martland and others should have looked the other way," California Representative Duncan Hunter, who is working to save Sgt. Martland's career, told the Times.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Read the entire report at The New York Times.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Emotional support alligator turned away from baseball stadium
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 2 October 2023
The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am
By The Week Staff Published
-
Crossword: October 2, 2023
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published