From the New York Times, whose proofreading budget must have gone toward that paywall:
MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan — Stirred up by a trio of angry mullahs who urged them to avenge the burning of a Koran at Florida church [sic], thousands of protesters overran the compound of the United Nations in this northern Afghan city, killing at least 12 people, Afghan and United Nations officials said…
Unable to find Americans on whom to vent their anger, the mob turned instead on the next-best symbol of Western intrusion — the nearby United Nations headquarters. “Some of our colleagues were just hunted down,” said a spokesman for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, Kieran Dwyer, confirming that the attack.
So they attacked representatives of the UN, which is bombing Muslims, because they couldn’t find representatives of America, which is also bombing Muslims but more importantly is where some weirdo burned a Koran a few weeks ago. Okay. But don’t worry, Mr. Talky made it all better with his magic words:
In Washington President Obama issued a statement strongly condemning the violence against United Nations workers. “Their work is essential to building a stronger Afghanistan for the benefit of all its citizens,” he said. “We stress the importance of calm and urge all parties to reject violence.”
I was taken aback by this at first, considering what’s going on in Libya, but then I remembered that he’s not George Bush so never mind.
Well, the last people we should blame are the actual rioters. As JWF puts it: “Eight People Murdered for Book Burning Half a World Away.”