Koran burning could amount to another Abu Ghraib: Petraeus
September 9th, 2010 - 6:26 am ICT by IANSWashington, Sep 9 (DPA) The top US commander in Afghanistan warned Wednesday that a Florida pastor’s plan to burn copies of the Koran could be as harmful to the US as the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq.
General David Petraeus told NBC television that images of the Koran burning would be used by Islamic extremists to fuel anti-Americanism and harm the US mission in Afghanistan and other areas in the world.
“We’re concerned that the images from the burning of a Koran would be used in the same way that extremists used images from Abu Ghraib that they would in a sense be indelible,” Petraeus told NBC.
“They would be used by those who wish us ill, to incite violence and to inflame public opinion against us and against our mission here in Afghanistan, as well as our missions undoubtedly around the world,” he added.
Photos emerged in 2004 showing US soldiers abusing prisoners at the Abu Ghraib facility outside Baghdad. The images sparked worldwide outrage and badly damaged US credibility.
Terry Jones, the pastor of a small congregation at the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Flordia, plans to burn copies of the Koran Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the Sep 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Jones said he intends to send a message to Islamic extremism. US officials have publicly condemned Jones and the 50 members of his church. Jones has vowed to proceed with his plans despite the outrage.
- Petraeus Warns Koran Burning Endangers Troops, Church Fires Back - Sep 08, 2010
- Fla. church adamant on burning Korans on 9/11 despite widespread outrage - Sep 08, 2010
- Koran burning is an 'outrageous' act: Vatican - Sep 09, 2010
- White House backs Gen. Petraeus' opposition to Koran burning - Sep 08, 2010
- U.S. government, Interpol warn of violent anti-U.S. demonstrations around the world - Sep 10, 2010
- Quran burning 'outrageous', says Vatican - Sep 08, 2010
- Condemnation of planned Qur'an burning in Florida grows - Sep 08, 2010
- Gen. Petraeus warns US church plans to burn Koran on 9/11 will hit Afghan campaign - Sep 07, 2010
- Americans Stand Against Small 50 Member Church Burning the Quran - Sep 09, 2010
- White House mulling call to Florida pastor - Sep 10, 2010
- Quran burning would be a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda: Obama (Lead) - Sep 09, 2010
- Pastor cancels plans to burn Qurans, then backtracks (Second Lead) - Sep 10, 2010
- US commander in Afghanistan asks church not to burn Quran - Sep 07, 2010
- Pak NGO condemns pastor's Quran burning proposal, urges Obama to chip in - Sep 11, 2010
- We are not at war with Islam, says Obama - Sep 11, 2010
Tags: abu ghraib, abu ghraib prison, abu ghraib prison scandal, anti americanism, credibility, david petraeus, flordia, general david petraeus, islamic extremism, islamic extremists, nbc, nbc television, ninth anniversary, outrage, outreach centre, public opinion, sep 11 2001, soldiers abusing prisoners, terry jones, world outreach