General asks preacher not to back anti-Muslim film

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked a Florida preacher Wednesday to withdraw his support of the anti-Muslim film that may have fueled the fatal attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Gen. Martin Dempsey called Terry Jones, who is known for inflammatory anti-Islamic rhetoric, to express his concerns about the film, saying it could inflame tensions and trigger violence.

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in the attack.

Dempsey spokesman Marine Col. Dave Lapan said Jones did not say whether he would limit or continue his backing of the movie, "Innocence of Muslims." A video excerpt of the low-budget film, which portrays Islamic Prophet Muhammad as a feckless philanderer who approved of child sexual abuse, is available on YouTube.

Stephanie Sapp, a spokeswoman for Jones, said the group was not going to show the film Wednesday evening and had never planned to do so. The group had planned to show an excerpt of the film on Tuesday night, but Internet difficulties made that impossible.

Jones' call to burn Qurans in 2010 caused Pentagon worries that it could endanger the lives of U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. He called off the burning, but his discussions triggered unrest in Afghanistan.

YouTube has continued to leave the video on its site but has blocked access to it in Egypt, where it also provoked angry protests.

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Associated Press writer Tamara Lush contributed to this report from Tampa, Fla.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/general-asks-preacher-not-back-anti-muslim-film-192725225.html

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