Petreus: Common Sense or Hypocrisy?

We just witnessed the circus surrounding the proposed Koran burning by a Terry Jones in Gainesville, FL. In midst of all that, the following snippet caught my attention. Among several high profile officials denouncing the proposed bonfire was General David Petreus, "General Petraeus said Tuesday that the Koran burning could endanger American troops in Afghanistan and the safety of Americans around the world by inciting violence among Islamic extremists." On the surface it seemed like an eminently sensible comment. However, with time the irony of the comment began to dawn on me.

Jihadi Islam is indeed a big threat to America, but the reason for the violence of the past decade and a half stems from the continuing presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia. That is the stated caucus belli for Al Quaeda. Of course since then the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have provided more fodder. What endangers Americans are the military policies of the government which Petreus champions. How ironic that the cheerleader of the policies endangering Americans is accusing Terry Jones of the same.

The allies of the American troops in the AfPak region, the Afghan interpretor, the Pakistani informant, the Pashtun guide et al are essential for continuing military operations. But these people are already alienated by the indiscriminate bombings from unmanned drones, bombings that kill their friends and families; strikes ordered by Petreus himself. And the real danger is ... Terry Jones!

The now famous wikileaks documents also show how the American government and military are supplying weapons to the Pakistanis knowing full well that these weapons will be handed over to the Jihadists and then used to kill American soldiers. And the real danger is ... Terry Jones!

The bottom line is that the American soldiers are in Afghanistan to "protect Freedom!" (hey, I didn't make that up, that's what the advertisement says). But chief among those freedoms is the freedom of expression. The first amendment is not needed to protect speech that everyone loves; to the contrary it is to preserve speech that everyone hates. Petreus is in no position to point fingers, he is himself endangering the troops through his support and implementation of war policy and strategy.