Obama urges Florida pastor to drop plan to burn koran on 9/11 anniversary
President Obama on Thursday joined the growing chorus of top U.S. officials calling on a Florida pastor to abandon his plans to stage a Koran burning on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. "This is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaeda," Obama said in an interview broadcast on ABC's "Good Morning America."
"You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan or Afghanistan. This could increase the recruitment of individuals who would be willing to blow themselves up in American cities or European cities," said Obama, who called the protest a stunt.
Obama added his voice to other officials including Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan; Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, all of __I____have derided the proposed burning organized by Pastor Terry Jones, of the Dove World Outreach Center, a church with about 50 members in Gainesville, Fla.
In numerous appearances, Jones has said he is praying on whether to go through with the protest, which has already sparked counter-demonstrations in the Muslim world, including Afghanistan and Indonesia. "I hope he listens to those better angels and understands that this is a destructive act that he's engaging in," Obama said on ABC. The administration stepped up its campaign to prevent the burning, but it was unclear what could be done.
"There are discussions inside the government about the possibility of doing that. I don't know that a final decision has been reached on doing that," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters Thursday. Meanwhile, the State Department warned overseas travelers to be careful. "The potential for further protests and demonstrations, some of which may turn violent, remains high," it said.
The dispute comes at an especially sensitive time for Obama, who has repeatedly tried to repair U.S. relations with the Muslim world. In June 2009, Obama traveled to Cairo, where he quoted the Koran and called for a "new beginning between the United States and Muslims" and an end to the "cycle of suspicion and discord" that included the 9/11 attacks and two wars in Muslim countries.
Since then, Obama has been winding down the war in Iraq, while stepping up the conflict in Afghanistan, where the government is battling an Islamic fundamentalist movement, the Taliban.
The Obama administration has also just launched its major push for Mideast peace talks, always a difficult issue and further complicated by the sharp antipathy of Hamas, seen in the West as another Islamic terror group. Hamas controls Palestinian Gaza and is not part of the current round of talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders.
By Michael Muskal Los Angeles Times - September 9, 2010|11:13 a.m. from: http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-koranburning-
20100910,0,1430372.story
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