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Petraeus Warns Against US Church's Planned Koran Burning

   VOA News 07 September 2010
   General David Petraeus (file photo)

Photo: AP

   General David Petraeus (file photo)

   The  commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan says a plan by a
   church  in  the  southeastern  U.S. state of Florida to burn Korans on
   September  11  could  endanger  U.S. troops and damage the overall war
   effort there.
   General  David  Petraeus  said  Monday that the planned burning of the
   Muslim  holy  book  "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban would
   exploit for propaganda purposes."
   He   said   it   could  cause  "significant  problems,"  not  only  in
   Afghanistan,  but  everywhere  the  U.S.  is "engaged with the Islamic
   community."
   Hundreds  of Afghan took to the streets in the capital Kabul Monday to
   protest  the  plan  by  the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville,
   Florida, to burn copies of the Koran. The protesters chanted "Death to
   America" as they rallied outside a mosque.
   Similar  protests  were  held  outside  the  U.S.  Embassy in Jakarta,
   Indonesia on Saturday.
   Leaders  of  the Florida church say they are taking the action to mark
   the  ninth  anniversary  of  the  terrorist attacks against the United
   States, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed.