Turning A Blind Eye

Just when you think you’ve heard everything, here comes an unbelievable story in the New York Times. It is a part of the culture of Afghanistan, and apparently in other parts of the Islamic world, for men to rape young boys.

Decent, moral U.S. soldiers who have witnessed such atrocities reacted the way you would expect them to — they tried to stop the rapes. Unbelievably, orders were issued saying this was part of the Afghan culture and to interfere would cause ill-will toward the United States. Our soldiers were ordered to turn a blind eye to sexual child abuse.

Captain Dan Quinn and Sgt. First Class Charles Martland, both Green Berets, nonetheless intervened to prevent such a rape. Quinn was relieved of his command and retired early. St. Martland is now being drummed out of the U.S. military.

This scandal encapsulates everything going wrong in America. The left believes in moral relativism — that what is right for one person may not be right for another. And it believes in cultural relativism — that you must not judge other cultures. This is the same impulse that led the military to confiscate and burn a shipment of Bibles to Afghanistan.

Our military under the current administration has become a sociological playground with more attention to the rights of transgendered individuals than to the status of our fighting forces. These are deep rooted problems that the next president will have to confront.

But here’s what ought to be done next: The appropriate congressional committees should call Captain Quinn’s commanding officer to testify. That person should be asked, “Were these orders issued by base commanders or did they come from the Pentagon?”

If they came from the Pentagon, the witness should be asked who in Pentagon wrote the order and then that person should be required to testify. They should be asked whether it was a unilateral decision or from higher up the chain of command.

Members of Congress should keep going as far as necessary because it is not inconceivable that the White House’s fingerprints will be found on this policy.

In the left’s America, gay football players, promiscuous co-eds and men who surgically alter their bodies in order to act like women are held up for praise. But military heroes like Captain Quinn and Sgt. Martland, who try to prevent child rape, lose their careers.

Muslim Mania

The left and big media have apparently designated September “Islam Promotion Month.” It started with a boy in Texas who built a clock that looked like a bomb. He was turned into a hero — receiving invitations to the White House and praise from Facebook and Twitter.

Next, U.S. presidential candidates were pummeled with questions meant to show their intolerance. Dr. Ben Carson got the treatment Sunday when he was asked about the possibility of an Islamic president.

One of the things he said was that a candidate’s faith could be an issue “If it’s inconsistent with the values of America.”

Half of U.S. Muslims believe that Sharia law trumps the Constitution, and they would prefer to be governed by Sharia law. That is inconsistent with the Constitution.

I wish Dr. Carson had told host Chuck Todd, “Instead of trying to create a controversy with that question, what you should be asking is whether it is conceivable that any Muslim nation would elect a Christian as president.”

If the liberal media is looking for intolerance, it should look at the Muslim world. Six of the top 10 worst violators of human rights are Islamic nations.

Poll Position

The first post-CNN GOP debate poll is out. Here’s what it shows about the state of the Republican primary campaign:

Trump still leads, but he’s taken a hit. Trump is down eight points from 32% before the debate to 24% after the debate.

Carly Fiorina shot up 12 points — from 3% to 15% — to second place.

Dr. Ben Carson lost five points — dropping from 19% to 14% — for third place.

Still, it is worth noting that Trump, Fiorina and Carson, three outsiders, command a combined total of 53% of the GOP primary vote.

Sen. Marco Rubio gained eight points — from 3% to 11% — for fourth place. No other candidate received double-digit support.

Meanwhile, the latest CNN poll has some good news for Hillary Clinton. Two weeks ago, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was within 10 points of Mrs. Clinton. But now her lead has nearly doubled to 18 points — 42% for Clinton to 24% for Sanders. Twenty-two percent of Democrats support Vice President Joe Biden.