In a statement Tuesday, the White House expressed concern over the plan of a Florida church to burn copies of the Koran on September 11. White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs said that the move would endanger U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. forces in  Afghanistan, said earlier that the event “s 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."

According to reports, The Dove World Outreach Center, a 50-member evangelical Christian church in Gainesville, Fla., plans to burn the Koran on Saturday, the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attacks, as a form of protest against the Islamist terrorists.