Speaking to the pastor, Gates "expressed his grave concern that going forward with this Koran burning would put the lives of our forces at risk, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan, and urged him not to proceed with it," press secretary Geoff Morrell told reporters.

It was a "very brief conversation," he said.

After the phone call, Terry Jones, head of the Dove World Outreach Center, announced he had abandoned plans to torch hundreds of Korans on Saturday's ninth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

President Barack Obama's administration had debated whether to place the phone call to the pastor amid global condemnation of the church's plans.

The defense secretary's view was that "if that phone call would save the life of one man or woman in uniform, it was a call worth placing," Morrell said.

earlier related report
White House weighs direct plea to halt Koran burning
Gainesville, Florida (AFP) Sept 9, 2010 - The White House Thursday weighed whether to appeal directly to a Florida pastor to call off a planned Koran burning ceremony amid mounting fears it will unleash a wave of violence.

US President Barack Obama warned if the incendiary gesture goes ahead as planned on Saturday's anniversary of the September 11 attacks it will provide "a recruitment bonanza for Al-Qaeda."

"This could increase the recruitment of individuals who'd be willing to blow themselves up in American cities, or European cities," Obama told ABC, as the US State Department issued a travel warning for Americans worldwide.

The pastor at the center of a growing global furor indicated he might be prepared to call off the event at his tiny church in Gainesville, Florida, at which he plans to burn some 200 Korans.

Terry Jones, head of the Dove World Outreach Center, told USA Today he had not been contacted by the White House, Pentagon or State Department about the event.

But if he were "that would cause us definitely to think it over. That's what we're doing now. I don't think a call from them is something we would ignore," Jones said.

The US administration said it was weighing a possible direct appeal to Jones, who was preparing to make a statement early Thursday afternoon, according to a church aide.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said "that possibility is currently under discussion in the administration" but no decision had been taken.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates was taking part in deliberations on "taking this unusual measure of calling this pastor and trying to convince him that it is not the right thing to proceed with," Morrell said.

Concretely there is little US officials can do to stop the event from going ahead as it would be protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech.

Jones says his tiny evangelical church wants to remember the almost 3,000 people killed when Al-Qaeda plowed hijacked passenger planes into the World Trade Center and Pentagon nine years ago and send a message to radical Islam.

The pistol-packing minister, who is the author of a book called "Islam Is Of The Devil," has said he is praying for guidance ahead of the three-hour event.

But there are fears the gesture will ignite a bonfire of anti-Western sentiment around the world, after similar past controversies sparked angry, often violent demonstrations.

The State Department said it was issuing a travel alert to "caution US citizens of the potential for anti-US demonstrations in many countries in response" to the church's plans.

"The potential for further protests and demonstrations, some of which may turn violent, remains high," it said in a statement, as the global police agency Interpol also warned of "tragic consequences" if the event goes ahead.

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said "if the proposed Koran burning ... goes ahead as planned, there is a strong likelihood that violent attacks on innocent people would follow."

In a sign of gathering Muslim rage, thousands of Afghans marched through a small town near Kabul Thursday, chanting anti-US and anti-Christian slogans.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference, which represents the entire Muslim world, said the act would constitute "an outrageous path of hatred."

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, leader of the world's biggest Muslim nation, told Obama in a letter it would torpedo attempts to reconcile Muslims and the West.

"Indonesia and the US are building or bridging relations between the Western world and Islam. If the Koran burning occurs, then those efforts will be useless," Yudhoyono wrote.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki warned the act could become "a pretext by the extremists to carry out more killings" in his country where there are still some 50,000 US troops.

Leading Republican and respected war veteran US Senator John McCain urged Jones to reconsider.

"Pastor (Terry) Jones's threats to burn the Koran will put American service men/women in danger -- for their sake please don't do it!" McCain said on his Twitter feed, which has some 1.7 million followers.

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