Gen. David Petraeus has appealed directly to the Florida church group that is planning to burn copies of the Koran on September 11, saying they are not considering the likely consequences:
Gen. David Petraeus said the Taliban would exploit the demonstration for propaganda purposes, drumming up anger toward the U.S. and making it harder for allied troops to carry out their mission of protecting Afghan civilians.
“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort,” Gen. Petraeus said in an interview. “It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community.”
Hundreds of Afghans attended a demonstration in Kabul on Monday to protest the plans of Florida pastor Terry Jones, who has said he will burn copies of Islam’s holy book to mark the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Afghan protesters chanted “death to America,” and speakers called on the U.S. to withdraw its troops. Some protesters threw rocks at a passing military convoy.
Military officials fear the protests will likely spread to other Afghan cities, especially if the event is broadcast or ends up on Internet video.
The church’s “pastor” replied, essentially, by agreeing with Petraeus that the Koran-burning event could put both the mission and U.S. troops’ lives in danger, but that they were going to do it anyway because, you see, the entire point of the exercise is to enrage Afghans and Muslims in general. The consequences that Petraeus fears are precisely why, this “pastor” suggests, they must go ahead with the Koran-burning:
Mr. Jones, head of the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Fla., said in a statement that “We understand the General’s concerns. We are sure that his concerns are legitimate.” Nonetheless, he added, “We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats.”
Mr. Jones has been denied a permit for the demonstration, but has said he plans to go forward with the protest.
There is no constitutional way that this “church” can be stopped from burning the Koran — which in itself constitutes part of the provocation, because Afghans do not understand how our constitutional democracy works; they don’t understand why Pres. Obama cannot just order the church to cancel the event. They don’t understand that this is about 50 barbaric savage lunatics, and not about U.S. policy or how most Americans feel about this kind of behavior.
I just wish that this church’s plans to set a bonfire and burn as many copies of the Koran as they can would have drawn the same degree and intensity of protest and outrage as the plans by Muslim New Yorkers to build an Islamic community center two blocks from Ground Zero. After all, unlike the Koran-burning event, building an Islamic community and worship facility does not risk the life of even a single human being.
Extremely odd, Americans’ priorities sometimes.
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