Gen. David Petraeus and White House Oppose Koran Burning, but U.S. Military Burned Bibles in Afghanistan

General David Petraeus took a rare position on a domestic issue by opposing the planned burning of Korans by a Florida church. The White House called it un-American.

On Monday, Petraeus said the Quran-burning event would be exploited by the Taliban. The White House also spoke out against the plan as "un-American" and said it would put American diplomats and travelers at risk.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," he said. "It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems. Not just here, but everywhere in the world, we are engaged with the Islamic community."

However, both Petraeus and the White House were silent in May of 2009 when the U.S. Military burned bibles in Afghanistan.

Military personnel threw away, and ultimately burned, confiscated Bibles that were printed in the two most common Afghan languages amid concern they would be used to try to convert Afghans, a Defense Department spokesman said Tuesday.

The White House and Gen. Petraeus need to choose a consistent position. They are either pro holy book burning or anti holy book burning. Which is it?

Can Obama Finally Admit the Surge Worked in Iraq?

Yesterday, President Obama sacked Gen. Stanley McChrystal and replaced him with Gen. David Petraeus. You may remember Gen. Petraeus was led the extremely successful 2007 surge in Iraq that led to the remarkable progress we see there today. He was vilified by President Obama's supporters as 'General Betray Us' in a MoveOn.org ad. The ad claimed Gen. Petraeus was cooking the books about the surges success. This led to a Senate resolution condemning the liberal groups unpatriotic attack on General Petraeus credibility. MoveOn.org has scrubbed their site of of this ad, but you can see screen-shots here. In hindsight, we all know the surge was successful and the ad was a lie. Where was President Obama during these events? He was strangely missing for the vote to condemn the ad even though he had left the campaign trail to be in Washington for votes. It is strange that President Obama has appointed a General who led a surge he opposed and has never admitted worked.



The time has come for President Obama to admit he was wrong. The surge in Iraq was a good strategy that was brilliantly implemented by his new favorite General.