Terry Jones - Closet antiwar activist?
Reverend Terry Jones is a crackpot, a bigot and probably inbred. Yet his plan to burn hundreds of copies of the Koran has lifted my spirits:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11209738
American troop commanders are up in arms over the Florida pastor’s proposed bonfire. David Petraeus has said that this could cause problems “not just in Kabul but all over the world.” Protestors have begun burning effigies of the unhinged preacher.
The Koran-burning is the latest in an epidemic of Islamophobia that is sweeping the United States. It’s hardly surprising. America’s multiple wars are going badly, the economy is doing worse, people are losing hope. Scapegoats abound.
The American Constitution, however, guarantees Reverend Terry’s right to burn any literature he wishes as long as the fire doesn’t endanger his neighbour’s property.
The irony, of course, is that the reverend has himself become a scapegoat for a war that was lost long ago. Burning the Koran, according to Petraeus, “could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort" says Petraeus. "It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems.”
Let’s hope it does. The reverend’s gesture should be supported precisely because it will cause problems for the US occupiers and therefore speed up our departure from Afghanistan and hopefully from the entire Islamic world.
"Not just here, but everywhere in the world, we are engaged with the Islamic community," insisted Petraeus in a plea to the Rev. Jones. Just ignore him, Reverend Terry, and get cracking with that fire. We’ve seen the tools of American “engagement’ at work: sanctions, killer drones, air strikes, torture, rendition, depleted uranium and white phosphorus.
So stoke those flames high and bring on the Korans!!! And don’t forget the hot dogs and the marshmallows.
PS. A tip for the reverend - these work really well in case you run low on fuel:
http://www.amazon.com/Journey-My-Political-Life/dp/0307269833/ref=pd_sim_b_1
