After incidents of urination on dead bodies of insurgents, burning of copies of Qur'an and massacre of 16 civilians, another idiotic move by American soldiers in Afghanistan has been revealed. Pictures in which US soldiers have posed next to corpses and body parts of insurgents have been published by Los Angeles Times. Previously, Afghan critics deemed such irresponsible actions by US soldiers as occasional and individual moves but now that such incidents have turned recurring, it seems like they are a part of a systematic effort to play with the emotions, belief, customs and tradition of the people of Afghanistan.

It is important to mention that the burning of copies of religious books including the Qur'an, the holy book of Muslims, was followed by violent protests that took lives of dozens of Afghans. In the same connection, at least five Americans, including two advisers at the Afghan Ministry of Interior, were shot dead by Taliban sympathizers inside Afghan security forces. Other incidents – urination on the dead bodies of insurgents and murder of 16 Afghan civilian in Kandahar by American – were also followed by severe condemnation and anger of Afghans.

The US authorities from White House to the US Embassy in Kabul and NATO commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, have said the photos do not reflect US Afghan policy and that they will not harm the relations between the countries. Nonetheless, there are fears that the photo scandal will increase threats to foreigners' lives inside Afghanistan.

The Taliban, in their statement, have condemned photographs of US soldiers posing with the remains of their militants, calling the images "inhuman" and vowing revenge. "This is what the invading Americans teach to their Afghan slaves," the statement said, referring to the members of the Afghan security forces trained and funded by the US-led troops.

It is quite disappointing that soldiers of a country that calls itself a champion of democracy and human rights, come up with reckless and immature acts. It is further disappointing that such actions are now happening more frequently and culprits go unpunished.