Brit Bishop Sorry for 'Praising' Taliban

Venner: Remarks were 'incredibly insensitive'
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 15, 2009 3:48 AM CST
Brit Bishop Sorry for 'Praising' Taliban
Stephen Venner was recently appointed as the Anglican bishop to Britain's Armed Forces.   (Wikipedia)

A British bishop has apologized for suggesting that the Taliban have some admirable qualities. Stephen Venner, the newly appointed bishop to Britain's armed forces, had warned against portraying the Taliban as pure evil and said their "conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty" could perhaps be admired, the Independent reports. The remarks were "incredibly insensitive," Venner now admits and stresses that he believes the Taliban's tactics are indeed evil.

"The way that the Taliban are waging war in Afghanistan is evil, both in their use of indiscriminate killing and their terrorizing of the civilian population," Venner said. "No religion could condone their actions." The bishop said he hoped to be able to continue in his current role, although lawmakers accusing him of "giving comfort and succor to our enemies" have called for his resignation. (More Stephen Venner stories.)

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