Special Forces To Change 'Free The Oppressed' Motto After Complaints From Afghans Holding Sex Slaves
FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Top Army leaders have ordered its elite Special Forces unit to change its motto from the Latin "De Opresso Liber" (To liberate the oppressed) to something that would be more culturally sensitive, after a large number of Afghans holding child sex slaves have complained.
"We want to make sure we are not offending our coalition partners and not judging them based on our own biases," said Col. Dwight S. Barry, a Pentagon spokesperson. "At the end of the day, we just have to respect that raping young boys and mutilating female genitals is just a part of their culture."
Started in 1952, Army Special Forces chose its Latin motto of "De Opresso Liber" at a time when the U.S. was heavily focused on freeing people around the world from the chains of Soviet Communism. Now decades later, Army leaders want operators to be more aware of cultural differences they may not understand in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Berkeley, California.
The move comes in the wake of numerous complaints from …
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