New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, listens as New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly answers reporters' questions in 2006.View Full Caption
AP Photo/Kathy Willens
By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said a Florida pastor's plan to burn korans to mark the anniversary of Sept. 11 is "un-American" and a danger to U.S. troops — a far cry from the mayor's defense earlier in the day.
"I agree with Gen. Patraeus and I think that it's extremely unwise. It's un-American to do that kind of thing," Kelly said after a fundraiser for the 9/11 Memorial co-hosted by the mayor
Tuesday night. "It's a very awful and dangerous thing to do."
Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of US forces in Afghanistan, has warned that the burning could incite violence abroad and put troops in danger.
Kelly's comments contrast Mayor Michael Bloomberg's words earlier in the day defending the pastor at a press conference at Ground Zero.
While Bloomberg reportedly said the burning would be "distasteful," he stressed that the pastor's Constitutional rights must be defended.
Kelly agreed that the pastor has the right to burn the holy books, but made clear he disagrees.
"Obviously you have the right to do that under the Constitution. But I think it can create problems in a lot of different ways," the police chief said.
Terry Jones, a senior pastor at the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, is threatening to burn copies of the koran for three hours Saturday evening. He has been advertising the event on Facebook as "International Burn a Koran Day."
Kelly spoke with DNAinfo at the pricey fundraiser at Cirpiani Wall Street, which was co-hosted by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart and attended by Gov. David Paterson and Robert De Niro.
does this work?
Inbox
X
Jill Colvin
By Jill ColvinDNAinfo Reporter/Producer MANHATTAN — A Florida pastor's plan ...
1:04 AM (40 minutes ago)
Jeremy Herb
Kelly's comments contrast the statements of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who adam...
1:21 AM (23 minutes ago)
Reply
|
Jeremy Herb
to me
show details1:41 AM (3 minutes ago)
Police
Commissioner Ray Kelly said a Florida pastor's plan to burn Korans to
mark the anniversary of Sept. 11 is "un-American" and a danger to U.S.
troops -- a divergence from Mayor Michael Bloomberg's defense of the
pastor's rights earlier in the day.
- Show quoted text -
On Wed, Sep 8, 2010 at 1:21 AM, Jeremy Herb <jmherb@gmail.com> wrote:
MANHATTAN — A Florida pastor's plan to burn korans
to mark the anniversary of Sept. 11 is "Un-American" and a danger to
U.S. troops, police commissioner Ray Kelly said Tuesday.
"I agree with Gen. Patreuas and I think that it's
extremely unwise. It's un-American to do that kind of thing," Kelly said following
a fundraiser for the 9/11 memorial co-hosted by the mayor Tuesday night.
Kelly's
comments contrast the statements of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who
adamantly defended the pastor at a press conference earlier in the day.
While Bloomberg said the burning would be "distasteful," he ARGUEDsaid that his Constitutional rights must be defended.
Kelly
said he was not disagreeing with the mayor's assessment. But while THE
POLICE CHIEF acknowledged that the pastor has the constitutional right
to burn the holy books, he said that doesn't mean the pastor should.OR:
HE WENT ONE STEP BEYOND THE MAYOR SAYING THE PASTOR SHOULD NOT BURN THE
HOLY BOOKS.
"It's a very awful and dangerous thing to do," he
said. "Obviously you have the right to do that under the Constitution. But
I think it can create problems in a lot of different ways."
KELLY'S REMARKS ECHO Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of US
forces in Afghanistan, has warned that the burning could incite violence abroad
and put troops in danger. Already, hundreds have reportedly taken to the street
in protest.
Nonetheless, Terry
Jones, a senior pastor at the Dove World Outreach Center, inGainesville continues to threaten to burn copies of the
holy book to mark the anniversary of the attacks.
He has been advertising
the event on Facebook as "International Burn a Koran Day."
KELLY SPOKE TO DNA INFO AT
The pricey fundraiser,
at Cirpiani Wall Street, was co-hosted by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart
and attended by Gov. David Paterson and Robert De Niro.
BLOOMBERG CAUGHT A LOT OF FLACK FOR HIS COMMENTS...ETC.
----
While
Kelly acknowledged that the pastor has the constitutional right to burn
the holy books, he said that doesn't mean he should.
Kelly's comments contrast Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who adamantly defended the pastor at a press conference earlier in the day.
While Bloomberg said the burning would be "distasteful," he said that his Constitutional rights must be defended.
