[07/September/2010]

WASHINGTON, Sep. 7 (Saba) - White House press secretary Robert Gibbs on Tuesday said he had not heard of any plan by the White House to contact a Florida pastor who has organized an event to burn copies of the Koran on Sept. 11, the ninth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

"We know that that type of activity is being transmitted back to places like Afghanistan," where U.S. General David Petraeus has said such an action in the United States could put U.S. troops in harm's way, Gibbs was quoted by Kuwait News Agency (KUNA).

"Any type of activity like that ... that puts our troops in harm's way would be a concern to this administration," Gibbs said during a White House briefing.

Publicity about the Koran burning plan has led to protests in Afghanistan, where the United States has 100,000 forces, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell noted in an MSNBC interview earlier on Tuesday.

The United States also has 50,000 troops in Iraq and "tens of thousands elsewhere throughout this Muslim part of the world," Morrell said. If the Koran burnings take place, it would put those U.S. troops in greater jeopardy than they already are, he said. 

"So it is not helpful, and I do not understand what would cause anyone to want to do such a thing at a time when we are trying to win the trust and confidence of the Arab world," Morrell said.

Saba