We didn't start the fire? No, we did!

When the anti-"Ground Zero" mosque issue began, I noted in a post on August 9th:

I hope the Palins, Gingrichs, and Foxmans will lower their rhetoric right away ... else, here is one possibility: Ramadan begins on August 12th, and this unnecessary attention on a proposed Islamic Center in New York could easily become the topic for inflammatory sermons from some of the imams in Iran and Iraq and Saudi Arabia and ... who are always looking for a good fight portraying the US as the satan ... and we want to provide them with more ammo?

Now, a month later, we are experiencing the results of the irresponsible rhetoric from "leaders" ... The Guardian has a concise chronology of a nutcase in Florida managed to make himself an international relations bomb.  I am not at all surprised that there are big time protests everywhere--particularly in the countries where the US is actively engaged (Iraq and Afghanistan).  This is a nightmare that was just unnecessary ...

President Hamid Karzai said the burning plan insulted Islam while Indonesia's leader said it threatened world peace.

The Christian Science Monitor notes a an important point--that such protests are happening in places where there is not much of an insurgent activity. Yes, we have managed to piss off even the regular folks in Afghanistan :(

Many of Friday’s protests took place in areas that do not have a strong insurgent presence and seem to have been spontaneous outbursts of anger. Friday marked the beginning of Eid al-Fitr, the holiest day in the Islamic calendar. Millions of Afghans attended mosques in the morning for services, and the Quran-burning issue was a major topic of discussion.
In the largest mosque in the Qara Bagh district of Kabul, an imam closed his sermon by asking his congregation for suggestions on prayer topics. Some proposed prayers for the poor or the ill, but a number of attendees rose and denounced the Quran-burning, according to witness accounts. Soon many joined in condemnation, and the men poured into the street chanting slogans against the US.
Thousands of others from various mosques in the area joined them over the next few hours, government officials in the area said, and the large group decided to proceed to the nearby Bagram Air Base, a major US military base.

:(