Afghan army chief warns against another NATO blunder

The burning of Korans at a NATO base in Afghanistan advanced the Taliban's cause and any repeat of similar "negligence" by Western forces would be disastrous, the Afghan army chief of staff has warned.

The destruction of the holy books, which the United States described as unintentional, triggered widespread protests and fatal attacks on U.S. troops by Afghan security forces and heavily strained ties between Kabul and Washington.

"The enemy (Taliban) will enlarge it and make use of it in such a way to instigate everybody," General Sher Mohammad Karimi told Reuters in an interview.

"They took advantage of this incident. They will take advantage."

Karimi, sitting in his office at the heavily guarded Ministry of Defense, lamented NATO's failure to grasp the sensitivities regarding Afghanistan's culture and religion during the United States' longest war, now in its eleventh year.

"Those friends who have come here to help us are not doing it the way we asked them too," said Karimi, adding he was "very concerned" by the burning of a truckload of Korans at Bagram air base about an hour's drive north of Kabul.

"God forbid if this mistake is repeated there will be a lot of trouble next time."

The Koran burnings set back the Western campaign to win the hearts and minds of Afghans in order to weaken the Taliban and force it to negotiate an end to the war. Instead, the Taliban urged Afghans to target foreign military bases and kill Westerners.

Karimi said the United States was not expected to hand over the men to Afghanistan. But he called for a trial and insisted that American military leaders ensure that similar incidents never take place again.