While the US discusses " discipline " perhaps for the five soldiers involved , Afghan Clerics would consider the appropriate punishment for blasphemy is death - so unless the US plans to turn over the 5 soldiers to the Afghan authorities and agree to allow the soldiers to be tried under Sharia law , I think we have a bit of a quandry here....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2012/03/20123385739834122.html

'Mistakes led to' Afghan Quran burning

Joint investigation says at least five US soldiers may face disciplinary action for committing "avoidable errors". Last Modified: 03 Mar 2012 11:29 inShare3 Email Print Share Feedback

The incident inflamed anti-US public opinion, and led to riots that killed at least 30 Afghan protesters [Reuters] A series of avoidable mistakes led to the burning of Quran copies at a US base in Afghanistan, and at least five US military personnel involved may face a disciplinary hearing over the issue, a leaked report on the incident shows. One Western official, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity, said that the joint investigation by senior Afghan and US military officials has determined that there was no intent to desecrate the Muslim holy book. The February 20 incident led to a series of deadly riots across the country, killing at least 30 Afghans. Six US soldiers were also shot and killed by Afghan security forces or Taliban fighters disguised in their uniforms following the incident. The event brought relations between the US-led NATO force and the Afghan government to an all-time low, and an Afghan committee investigating the incident has rejected apologies from the US, saying that those responsible must be tried publically in Afghanistan. The Western official, who has knowledge of the investigation, said it could lead to a disciplinary review of the US personnel involved. "Some of those people are of fairly high military rank, and they're going to end up being discplined, or the recommendations would be that they would be discplined for failing to follow procedure. Investigators will also end up punishing people if they feel that they haven't entirely honest with them during the initial investigation," Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith reported from Kabul. Full details of the incident are expected to be included in a joint Afghan-US inquiry that is still under legal review by the military. Its release date is unclear. A more formal US military investigation is still weeks away from completion. If any action is taken against American troops involved, it would come under the US military justice system, officials with the international coalition have said in earlier statements. Reports differ The incident occurred almost two weeks ago, when books and other Islamic texts at the Parwan Detention Facility were removed after US military officials said inmates were using them to pass messages. After the writings were discovered, two Afghan-American interpreters went through materials at the facility's library. They flagged up 1,652 items for removal. IN VIDEO  Haseeb Humayoon, an Afghan analyst, says the room for error for NATO forces in Afghanistan is diminishing   The items, which included the Quran copies, were reportedly placed in boxes and the Western official confirmed that a decision was taken to dispose of them, because of a lack of storage space and because of the notes scribbled in them. Other reports, however, indicated that the books were mistakenly marked for disposal. A group of soldiers, who were reportedly unaware of the contents of the boxes, then removed them to throw them away at the burn pit at the adjoining Bagram Air Field. Afghan workers then realised what was being burned and tried to extinguish the flames, with some burning their fingers trying to salvage the books. Afghan government officials said initial reports indicated four Quran texts were burned. Burning condemned Afghanistan's senior religious leaders demanded on Friday that those involved in the incident be put on public trial and punished. In a statement issued after they presented the findings of their investigation into the burning to President Hamid Karzai, they strongly condemned the incident and blamed it on the administration of the detention facility. "This is an unforgivable act. It's inhumane," they said, adding that it was "certainly not going to be forgiven by apologies, the responsible parties should be prosecuted in an open trial and they should be punished". They also called on the US to end night searches and to hand over prisons to Afghan control. The religious leaders said the books would never have been burned if Afghan officials had been in charge of the facility. Control over detainees and night raids are the two most contentious issues in a strategic partnership document that the US and Afghanistan are currently negotiating. Al Jazeera's Smith, however, reported that the chances of the US personnel facing trial in Afghanistan were slim. "That is just not going to happen," he said. "The Americans are not going to hand these individuals over to be handled by the Afghan justice system. They're going to be handled by the US military justice system. And I imagine ... whatever the punishment the US justice system hands out, it's just not going to be enough to satisfy some people. "The way that the Americans and the Afghan government handle the conclusions of this report, and handle [the situation] ... that is going to be crucial to how the reaction is here on the streets of Afghanistan." and... (Reuters) - Afghans will never accept U.S. justice for five American soldiers involved in burning copies of the Koran, and could rise up in a "storm of fury" if there is no public trial, a senior cleric said on Saturday. The burning of Korans at a NATO air base has incensed the Muslim nation and sparked protests, complicating efforts by the United States to forge a long-term security pact with Afghanistan ahead of an end-2014 foreign combat troop pullout. "The military leaders who ordered the burning and the offenders should both be tried and punished ... This evil crime has been done inside Afghanistan so the punishment must be according to the country's law," Qazi Nazir Ahmad Hanafi, head of an Afghan group comprising clerics and parliamentarians investigating the incident, told Reuters. "Court martial or any punishment within the circle of U.S. military law will never be accepted ... If our demands are disregarded then a storm of fury will rise and wash away the Americans." Protests and condemnation erupted last month after Afghan workers found charred copies of the Koran at the Bagram base near Kabul. There are three on-going inquiries into the event. A joint investigation, conducted by U.S. military officials and members of Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government, has concluded that five U.S. soldiers were involved, officials said on condition of anonymity on Friday. U.S. President Barack Obama and other U.S. officials have apologized over the burnings. Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with deep reverence. The Taliban movement has urged Afghans to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners in retaliation. The furor came as NATO officials prepare for a summit in Chicago in May, which is expected to shed light on the West's course out of Afghanistan after more than 10 years of war. The Koran incident is only the latest public relations nightmare for the Pentagon in Afghanistan. The burnings have been a setback to the Western campaign to win over Afghans in order to weaken the Taliban and could have far-reaching effects for U.S. policy ahead of an exit of most foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. Afghan parliamentarian Mullah Tarakhil, who is also part of the group investigating the incident, said that delaying the trial and sentencing could create further instability. He said 400 copies of the Koran were burned. "We want an immediate punishment of the offenders so we can heal the wounds of the people hurt by the ignorant Americans," he said.