The U.S. on Friday condemned the plan of a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Koran, saying such “disruptive and disrespectful” attempts hurt the efforts to counter “blood-thirsty elements” and terror attacks like the ones that shook New York and Mumbai.
U.S. Ambassador Timothy Roemer said President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and he himself condemned any attempt to burn copies of the Koran. “This is highly disrespectful, divisive and disruptive. It does not represent American values,” he told reporters after meeting Home Minister P. Chidambaram.
The U.S. and India looked for ways to counter terrorist elements worldwide. “We look for ways to have our two countries work together on the global stage to counter these efforts to attack Mumbai or New York in the future. Part of these efforts are military, and a great deal through development, through diplomacy, through religion being respected and through working together at the inter-faith level,” he told reporters.
Mr. Roemer said he conveyed to Mr. Chidambaram that the U.S. did not subscribe to the views of Pastor Terry Jones, who planned to burn copies of the Koran to mark the 9/11 attacks.
The Ambassador sought to downplay Ohio's ban on outsourcing of IT-related work. Similar actions in the past did not affect the India-U.S. business ties that had grown to a greater level. The partnership between the countries was “indispensable,” he asserted.
“I would refer you to statements by Infosys and other Indian companies which recently said about Ohio action ...that they had very little, if any, impact on the U.S.-Indian business,'' he said.
