At Least 7 UN Staff Members Killed In Afghan Protest

Angry protesters stormed a UN compound in the northern town of Mazar e Sharif today, killing at least three foreign staffers and four UN security guards. 

Protesters reportedly forced their way past guards into UNAMA’s (United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan) regional office, infuriated by news that American Pastor Terry Jones had recently burnt the Quran.

The UN is still unable to confirm the number of Afghan who were killed in the attack or the ensuing response by police. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporter Afghan mission chief Staffan de Mistura was on his way to Mazar e Sharif to ascertain all the facts surrounding the attack.

 The Secretary General’s spokesperson also said he couldn’t confirm reports that the UN staffers had been beheaded in the attack, but said his office had received worrying indications. In a press conference from Nairobi, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon condemned the attack as cowardly and unjustified. 

In 2009, an attack on a UN guest house in Kabul left 5 UN staff members dead, including former US Marine and UN security guard Louis Maxwell. 

Gibbs: White House May Contact Florida Pastor

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said today that the administration is discussing the possibility of directly engaging a pastor in Florida over his plan to burn hundreds of copies of the Koran on the ninth anniversary of 9/11.

During his daily briefing on Thursday, Gibbs would not label the proposed event as a hate crime, but channeled remarks made this morning by President Obama, who warned that it could serve as a boon for terrorist recruitment efforts.

“There is no doubt…that this is a hateful act,” Gibbs said. He called the instigator behind the proposal, pastor Terry Jones, a “desperate man seeking the attention of the better part of the world.”

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters today that Jones could very well expect to hear from the administration.

“That possibility is currently under discussion,” he said. “That is an active ongoing discussion in which [Defense Secretary Robert Gates] is a participant. I don’t believe they’ve come to any resolution.”

Jones said in an interview with USA Today that he has not yet been contacted by any official in Washington, but that he would listen in the event things changed.

“That would cause us to definitely think it over,” he said. “I don’t think a call from them is something we would ignore.”

Meanwhile, Jones did meet with a handful of FBI agents today about the proposed event. The pastor is expected to make a statement about that meeting later today.

Obama: Koran Burning Is ‘Contrary To Our Values’

President Barack Obama weighed in Thursday on a Florida pastor’s proposal to burn copies of the Koran this Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“If he’s listening, I hope [Pastor Terry Jones] understands that what he’s proposing to do is completely contrary to our values as Americans,” Obama said during an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that aired this morning. “I just want him to understand that this stunt that he is talking about pulling could greatly endanger our young men and women who are in uniform,” the president added.

Obama certainly is not the first major political leader to comment on the controversy, yet he may have had good reason to show up late to this particular party. His remarks during an Iftar dinner at the White House last month supporting the rights of a group seeking to build a mosque just blocks from Ground Zero sparked a national debate on the issue that has still not ended.

This time around, however, Obama had plenty of precedent. Earlier this week his top general in Afghanistan, David Petraeus, a man who doesn’t normally interject himself into political matters, rebuked the church’s proposal, saying it would endanger the lives of U.S. troops fighting abroad. The president echoed Petraeus’ sentiment during this morning’s interview, saying, “this is a recruitment bonanza for Al Qaida. You could have serious violence in places like Pakistan and Afghanistan.”

Jones, who heads up the 50-member Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, has drawn worldwide scorn since he announced his proposed stunt back in July. Despite that, the Christian pastor has defended his church’s idea to burn hundreds of copies of the Muslim holy book by arguing that it is constitutional as well as an appropriate response to the 9/11 attacks, in which Islamic terrorists hijacked and crashed four U.S. airplanes, killing 3,000 Americans.

The death threats Jones alleges he has received are disputable, but the global ire he has drawn is not. Several top U.S. leaders have openly condemned the church, from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who called the plan “regrettable,” to Attorney General Eric Holder, who called the idea “idiotic.” An editorial that ran recently in Dublin’s Irish Times equated the proposal to Nazi book burning.

A Facebook page created by the church to promote the event currently has over 13,000 ‘fans,’ yet it is unclear how many of them actually support the the idea. Locally, the church has been confronted over its plan by government and businesses alike. The fire department in Gainesville, a small college town in the north central part of the state, refused to grant the church a burning permit, stating the open burning of books is a fire hazard and is not allowed. Meanwhile, the bank where Dove has a mortgage loan has demanded that the church immediately repay its balance.

"Burn A Quran" Day Still On, Despite Petraeus Warning

A Florida pastor says he is now “weighing” plans to follow through with a scheduled “Burn A Quran” day on the anniversary of September 11 after Gen. David Petraeus warned that the event would endanger the lives of U.S. troops and would also be detrimental to U.S. efforts in the Afghanistan. 

Despite warnings and condemnation from top U.S. military and government officials, the Florida pastor said the proceedings will continue as scheduled.

“We have firmly made up our mind, but at the same time, we are definitely praying about it,” Terry Jones, pastor of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainseville, Florida told CNN in an interview.

According to recent reports, Jones said in response to warnings from Petraeus and others that “it’d be tragical if because of this one person died. But at the same time, we do not feel responsible for that.” 

Known to the social media world as “International Burn A Koran Day,” the event has nearly 9,000 Facebook supporters.

“On September 11th, 2010, from 6pm - 9pm, we will burn the Koran on the property of Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, FL in remembrance of the fallen victims of 9/11 and to stand against the evil of Islam. Islam is of the devil!” the page reads.

The Facebook page sparked the creation of dozens of other pages denouncing the event and the intentions of Jones. Additionally, the event has also ignited a series of protests in Kabul, Afghanistan where hundreds have gathered for two consecutive days burning American flags and effigies of the pastor and shouting “Death To America.”