From Snopes Claim: General John J. Pershing effectively discouraged Muslim terrorists in the Philippines by killing them and burying their bodies with pigs.
I don't see the harm in doing this......We should give it a try....But then all the animal activists will crawl out of the wood work, and religious activist will find their way as well.
LaMa
in Europe Member
Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2005 | 07:30 AM
I think such things would only spark more outrage, resent and more violence. See what happened after news reports of alleged Quran dessecrations at Guantanamo Bay.
Me too Stephen, especially after today. Can't we just use one of those planes that puts out fires to fly over the Afghan mountains and dump gallons of Piggy gibblets on them?
Well, considering the fact that these terrorists keep violating other Islamic prohibitions, such as alcohol and KILLING, it seems highly unlikely to deter today's terrorist.
Gatti
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 | 08:08 AM
That's wrong and disgusting on so many levels. John J. Pershing is a disturbed man.
You've automatically assumed that a rumor is true. There is no evidence that Pershing ever actually did this. If you had read the article fully you would be aware of this. Therefore, you can't condemn him for something that he may or may not have done.
On the other hand, if this is true then so what? If it works and saves lives then I don't see a problem with it. It's not as if a terrorist gives a rat's ass about their victims, so why should they be shown the same courtesy? They were going to be executed anyway so if a few pigs saved them from having to execute others it was worth it. Assuming, of course, that any of it really happened the way it's been stated.
Gatti
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 | 09:55 AM
I read the whole article, and yes, I was responding like the article was true, but I don't necessarily believe it. Sorry bout that.
I know terrorists dun care about there victims, but 2 wrongs don't make a right. The way the article was described, that Pershing forced them to dig there own graves while he threatened them wit pigs...I dunno, there's just somethin wrong about that, even if they were terrorists. If your gonna scare em, you should at least do it with more dignity. Muslims don't like bein cremated for instance, and that's less disgusting and disturbing than dumping pig remains on someone. If the article is true, Pershing is just as bad as a terrorist himself. YMMV, of course.
Chary, almost all of them seem to really avoid pork. That is a ticket that will keep them out of heaven from all the 900 virgins...I think it will work.
What if we found out that some of our soldiers were being forced to give up Jesus and have 666 tatooed on their foreheads? We would be outraged, even if these soldiers had killed innocent children. The proposal of the story is bullshit, and if enforced would cause only more tension.
French Canadian
Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2005 | 11:14 PM
I think we should eradicate the terroristssssshhh..
My idol, the late Frank Zappa, once said that the answer to the terrorism problem might be to spray their strongholds with "Pork Cologne." The intention, obviously, would be to make them think that they wouldn't go to Heaven (I don't know the Arabic word for their version of it). The loss of the incentive to be a suicide bomber might curtail the activity.
Yes, I agree, of course, that the reverse of such a thing would absolutely outrage the Christians of the world.
Come to think of it, I doubt that most Muslims would believe that if they were buried in pigskins or some such silly thing, it would keep them from Paradise. And those that think dying for Allah is the greatest service wouldn't think they'd be kept out of heaven for a minor infraction that was forced upon them. "Thou shalt not eat pork" isn't one of the ten commandments.
Still, they would see it for what it is, a direct attack on their religion and culture, and even more a reason for fighting occupation forces, or killing civilians. And don't forget that our pet, Israel, just might take offense to pork bombs!
Andy
in Brooklyn, NY
Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2005 | 10:36 AM
From the Qu'ran, 16th Sura ("The Bee"): He has only forbidden you what dies of itself and blood and flesh of swine and that over which any other name than that of Allah has been invoked, but whoever is driven to necessity, not desiring nor exceeding the limit, then surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
Similar wordings can be found in other chapters, which further clarify this as to mean "It is forbidden to eat swine or anything which has died of natural causes (or has not been blessed by Allah), but if it is forced upon you, Allah will forgive you."
This is why the Pershing legend is just that- an Urban Legend. Any sufficiently learned Imam or Mullah would have no problems negating any imagined consequences of Muslims being buried with pigs; the more probable reaction would be to engender a severe backlash which would further the terrorists aims.
A closer comparison to the Pershing story would be to the oft-repeated tale of Gulf War I Iraqi propaganda telling American GI's that Bart Simpson was making love to their wives. Except the difference here is that the terroists don't have a sense of humor for cultural misunderstandings.
