Such a weird image: not just soccer balls falling out of the sky, but Quranic soccer balls falling out of the sky!

And I don't know about Afghanistan, but at least in Iraq touching something with your shoe is a strong sign of disrespect. Remember those photos of people pounding their shoes on murals or statues of Saddam? So if that or something similar is the case in Afghanistan too, then double oops.

Jesus Christ!!

Do ANY of these people frickin' to ANY research about these cultures.

Fer crissakes! This is like watching Sliders, where they would shift into an alternate universe and then proceed to act like and assume that everything is the same as the one they came from, and then be all surprised and shit that it's different. Every freakin' episode!

Goddamn!

Yeah, let's give them some good old fashioned American footballs! I'm sure the youngsters of Afghanistan will be delighted to get to know the ol' pigskin.

Hmm, I thought the lesson was for the Afghanis to realize, "Hey, maybe we should live like we're in the 21st frickin' century and not freak out like a primitive tribe from Skull Island when people give us free gifts with good intentions."

But then I remembered: only true believers in Western religions deserve mockery.

So, GB, if you are entrusted with earning the goodwill of the Afghan people, are you going to hand out soccer balls with the name Allah printed on them (or some other stupid nonsense) without researching the customs of the local people, and then scream 'Get in the 21st frickin' century!' at them when they get offended? Whether the Afghanis ought to be offended here is just a minor side issue. The fact of the matter is that we were trying to earn some good will and through a stupid blunder ended up pissing them off instead. Better to have done nothing in the first place.

And as to who deserves mockery, well, hell, only people who use the words 'a,' 'an,' and 'the' in any language deserve to be mocked.

and not freak out like a primitive tribe from Skull Island

Perhaps you didn't read the sentence that says:

Villagers were "upset and angry" when they saw the ball, said Khost governor Arsalah Jamal. "They wanted to demonstrate, but we explained to them it was a mistake,"

How does being upset but then being persuaded not to demonstrate about it equal "freak[ing] out like a primitive tribe from Skull Island" in your world?

when people give us free gifts with good intentions

Do you think maybe it's possible that, for at least some people in Afghanistan, the good intentions of the U.S. and its military are perhaps not quite so obvious as you seem to think they are? Or can the only explanation for people who don't automatically interpret all U.S. actions as good and virtuous be that they are backwards and primitive?

But then I remembered: only true believers in Western religions deserve mockery.

So what you're saying is that apo isn't fair and balanced enough for you? Are you keeping a close tally of how much mockage is devoted to each religion so you can call him out about it?

And you know, the U.S. military is funded by and represents the American people. As an American, I therefore feel a strong sense of responsibility for what it does. I don't feel that same sense of responsibility for the actions of Afghan citizens. So if I don't go around freaking out like a primitive tribesperson from Little Green Footballs at everything people I have no direct control or responsibility over do, you probably shouldn't take it as a sure sign that I hate America and always blame it first.

Did you guys not read the post? The lesson is to stick to real American sports.

Soccer IS a real American sport, apo; cricket and lawn bowling are not. It`s a great sport that lots of kids play growing up. Perhaps it wasn`t the thing when you were growing up, but our Hispanic underclass likes it, so it`s time to get used to it.

Perhaps it wasn`t the thing when you were growing up

I grew up playing soccer, mostly fullback. When Tom was growing up, the big sport was stepping on punchlines.

5: Come on. Would you expect Christians to be offended if Afghanistan invaded Texas and freely gave out urinal cakes imprinted with a cross?

11: Silly Cala, your analogy clearly fails: Afghans can't have good intentions.

10: Wait; that comment is out of bounds!

Soccer is a communist plot to deprive baseball of shortstops.