It’s easy to dismiss Florida Dove World Outreach Center pastor Terry Jones’ planned “International Burn a Koran Day” as the agitprop of an inconsequential pastor, one whose relevance to mainstream Christianity is akin to that of Westboro Baptist Church.
Americans largely may ignore Jones, who chose September 11th as the date to hold the burning, but on Monday Gen. Petraeus gave a glimpse of just how serious of a problem the planned event is for America’s image around the world.
“It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan,” Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
Petraus’ deputy, Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, elaborated on CNN, saying “We very much feel that this [the burning] can jeopardize the safety of our men and women that are serving over here in the country,” said Caldwell, the head of NATO efforts to train Afghan security forces.