A few days ago in Afghanistan, some copies of the Koran which had terrorist messages scribbled on them were burned by an American base. Word of this got out and much violence, stupidity and some death resulted. 2 US soldiers were killed when an Afghani soldier betrayed them. Violent protesters were killed. President Obama apologized over the burning of the Koran and idiots like Newt Gingrich bashed him for this. Once again demonstrating that he has zero integrity, Gingrich said that he should not apologize and we should leave. I'm sure that Gingrich has or will call for the US to stay in Afghanistan, so this is completely dishonest, similar to when he flip-flopped on his Libya-Gaddafi comments within the space of a few days.
Was it right for Obama to apologize? I'll say yes. Do we need to not apologize, and give the Taliban something to run on? They're already capitalizing on the event; just let them keep doing that? Dumb idea and not patriotic at all, as American soldiers which the far right supposedly cares about will be endangered as a result. Better to apologize and get back to business as usual. The President is the Commander-in-Chief and he took ownership of the Koran burnings and apologized. This seems appropriate and the far right seems stupid.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/the-ar...R_story_2.html
The criticism over his apology to Karzai has been confined largely to Republicans running to replace him. Other conservatives have defended Obama’s decision given the importance of maintaining a working relationship with Karzai as U.S. forces begin winding down the war.
“It was an important demonstration of respect for the Afghan people and their religious faith,” said Lisa Curtis, a senior research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation who specializes in South and Central Asia. “I think the United States dealt with this appropriately, but I also don’t think any additional apologies are necessary.”
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