MAIL ONLINE: Hillary Clinton – Act is 'disrespectful and disgraceful' / Gen Petraeus: 'It will spark war against all Christians'
The leader of a tiny U.S. church has today reiterated his determination to proceed with plans to burn copies of the Koran on September 11 despite pleas from senior military and political figures.
The Rev Terry Jones has been advised by the senior U.S. leader in Afghanistan, General David Petaeus, that the stunt would put American soldiers lives at greater risk and provide propaganda for the Taliban.
But Rev Jones, who says he has recently received more than 100 death threats and begun carrying a pistol for his own protection, today held a press conference to announce that he will not back down in the face of military, political or moral pressure.
He said: 'As you can imagine we have come under very much pressure in the direction of cancelling the event.
'But as of this time we have no intention of cancelling.
'We have also, which is something the news media has missed, received quite a lot of support.
'We understand the General Petraeus's concern and we are still considering it.
'But as of now we are not convinced that backing down is the right thing to do.
'So we will continue with our planned event[.]' >>> Mail Foreign Service | Wednesday, September 08, 2010
