Dempsey: Afghan Child-Abusers Not Protected

Reacting to a recent New York Times story and subsequent criticism from Capitol Hill, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Army Gen. Martin Dempsey stated in a letter that service members are not being ordered to ignore Afghan troops who sexually abuse children. In a letter to Dempsey, Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., cited the Times’ report that two soldiers – Capt. Dan Quinn and Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland, were punished for stepping forward to report that Afghan soldiers kept a young boy chained to a bed and used as a sex slave. “It is bad enough if the Pentagon is telling our soldiers to ignore this type of barbaric and savage behavior, but it’s even worse if we are punishing those who are trying to stop it,” Buchanan wrote in the Sept. 21 letter.