"[The plans to organize a burning of the Koran in Gainesville] is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday. Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."

Can you guess who pronounced those words? An anti-American, Islam-loving, terrorism-tolerating liberal, perhaps? Or someone else?

I won't leave you guessing for too long. It was a national hero, the guy who came up with the Surge idea which has made it possible for the mission in Iraq to reach a new stage, where Iraq is hopefully able to look after itself; it was the guy who was subsequently put in charge of the Afghanistan mission as well, and hopes are he'll bring it to a similar stage too. A hugely respected military commander, to whom many people on both sides of the political barricade claim they would dedicate their trust and would vote for, if he ever considers running for President.

Yes, it was Gen. Petraeus.

Of course he was just one voice in the chorus of voices who protested the plans of Rev. Terry Jones to burn Koran copies in front of his small congregation in Florida to commemorate 9-11. After the storm of outrage, Jones is claiming he's "taking the widespread criticism seriously", but it's yet to be seen what this exactly means. Again we're touching the subject of freedom of speech here, and people getting offended by "too free speech", and this is about deliberately inflaming groups of people for the sake of one's convictions (no matter how bigoted). What say you? Do you approve of his way of delivering his message that "we're warning you [Muslims] that if you attack us, we'll attack you"?

And how prevalent do you think this type of mindset is in society? Is it "no biggie", or is it a symptom of something really bigger?

And when you weigh this guy's alleged patriotism vs the type of patriotism of which Gen. Petraeus speaks, and taking in consideration the potential effects of Rev . Jones' actions for the US troops in foreign countries, where do you stand on the issues of freedom of speech, respecting other groups, and defending the interests of fellow US citizens in cases of this particular type?

By the way more anti-US demonstrations have already erupted in some cities in the Middle East, with flag burning, Allah Aqbar shouts and all the respective paraphernalia - and that, as a direct consequence of Rev. Jones' declared intention (note: I'm not even saying action yet). Any bets on the number of new recruits for the anti-US terrorist insurgency?

x-posted