The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff has condemned a Defense Department training course that taught troops to prepare for a "total war" against Islam.
Army General Martin Dempsey said on May 10 that the course was "totally objectionable" and "wasn't academically sound."
The optional course for high-level officers at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, proposed waging a war against Muslim civilians "whenever necessary" and used the World War II-era fire-bombing of Dresden and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as examples.
The course reportedly taught that nuclear attacks against the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina could be acceptable.
The Pentagon suspended the course last month after a student complained and launched an investigation into how it came to be included in the school's curriculum.
The responsible instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, has been suspended from teaching.
Lecturers told students to think of themselves as an anti-Islamic "resistance movement."
Dempsey added on that a letter had been sent to each branch of the U.S. military and all regional command structures ordering them to review training materials for anti-Islamic content, in correspondence with a November 2011 directive from U.S. President Barack Obama.
That order came following disclosure of anti-Islamic content in training materials used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the military.
The Defense Department plans to issue a report on its investigation by the end of the month.
Army General Martin Dempsey said on May 10 that the course was "totally objectionable" and "wasn't academically sound."
The optional course for high-level officers at the Joint Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia, proposed waging a war against Muslim civilians "whenever necessary" and used the World War II-era fire-bombing of Dresden and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as examples.
The course reportedly taught that nuclear attacks against the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina could be acceptable.
The Pentagon suspended the course last month after a student complained and launched an investigation into how it came to be included in the school's curriculum.
The responsible instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Matthew Dooley, has been suspended from teaching.
Lecturers told students to think of themselves as an anti-Islamic "resistance movement."
Dempsey added on that a letter had been sent to each branch of the U.S. military and all regional command structures ordering them to review training materials for anti-Islamic content, in correspondence with a November 2011 directive from U.S. President Barack Obama.
That order came following disclosure of anti-Islamic content in training materials used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department, and the military.
The Defense Department plans to issue a report on its investigation by the end of the month.