At least 22 people were killed by a mob in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, on Friday and Saturday, including seven United Nations workers and four guards. The murderous rioting was tied to Florida pastor Terry Jones, who made international news last fall by threatening to burn a Koran on September 11. This March 20, he made good on his threat and, though the event was sparsely attended and ignored by the U.S. media, video of the Koran burning slowly gained an audience in Afghanistan and other Muslim countries. Jones has said the killings aren't his fault. But can he wash his hands so easily?
This is all Jones' fault: Don't believe Jones' "crocodiles tears," says John Avlon in The Daily Beast. The "crazed" Florida "carnival-barker hate-monger" didn't pull the trigger, but he knew his "high-cost stunt" would put Western troops and civilian workers in harm's way — Gen. David Petraeus warned him, and us, of these exact dangers last year. And it isn't over: Our enemies will now use Jones' actions to "redirect the Arab Spring uprisings' anger toward the U.S."
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