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Obama Apologizes for Someone Accidentally Burning a Koran and...

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So Americans are dying because some (most likely Christian Fundamentalist) airmen thought it cute to burn some Korans. Smart.
 
when did we get so petty as to criticize apologies?

Did people complain when the CEO of domino's apologized for bad behaviors by employees at a store?

Did people complain when Murdoch apologized for the phone hacking scandal?
 
cybrsage said:
It only took 7 posts (including the OP) for someone to invoke the "but Bush" card to defend Obama...
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I'm not defending Obama. Someone said that the President of Afghanistan should have apologised. I was pointing out the lack of consistency in his reasoning.

Did you actually read my post, or did you see the word 'Bush' and start your response?
 
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Modelworks said:
No surprise. The one thing about Obama I despise is his need to keep apologizing to countries for everything the USA does. He seems to look down on the country he was elected to lead.
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Perhaps he doesn't want the US to look like a bunch of jerks to the rest of the world when mistakes are made.

Mistakes are inevitable, what counts is how people make amends for them and try to avoiding making them again in future.
 
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ohnoes said:
when did we get so petty as to criticize apologies?

Did people complain when the CEO of domino's apologized for bad behaviors by employees at a store?

Did people complain when Murdoch apologized for the phone hacking scandal?
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It's a long-time Republican meme. 'America: love it or leave it'. 'Might makes right'. 'Blame America First!' 'Never apologize for America'.

This is a childish, arrogant, unjust attitude. If the US does something wrong, and every nation does, the right thing is to apologize for it.

When the US accidentally sent a missile into a Chinese embassy, there were those who would say, 'why should we apologize to a bunch of communists who violate their people's rights and don't apologize for it?' Because we did something wrong, is why. It's not about judging the Chinese good or bad to apologize for our mistake.

But it makes for good politics to try to ride the wave of anti-Chinese sentiment and claim apologizing for the missile is somehow 'supporting' the communists.

The alternative is to resemble the authoritarian regimes who repress instead.
 
I think it would have been more appropriate for the military commander over Afghanistan to have made the apology, not Obama.

Fern
 
Fern

If an apology was to have any effect at all (rather than just be a matter of record) it is likely magnified by coming from the President. It is also a free effort with no cost of blood or treasure. It might also reflect that Obama takes his job as CIC seriously.
 
GrGr said:
So Americans are dying because some (most likely Christian Fundamentalist) airmen thought it cute to burn some Korans. Smart.
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Hey, don't single out the airmen.
It was the Marines who thought it would be cool to piss on the dead body's a couple weeks ago.
 
Orignal Earl said:
Hey, don't single out the airmen.
It was the Marines who thought it would be cool to piss on the dead body's a couple weeks ago.
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So the prisoners were writing messages to each other thereby already desecrating the Qur'an. Not knowing what they should do with it they ask an Imam who tells them the proper way to dispose of it is to burn it which is what they did. You then piss on the airmen. Nice.
 
Hayabusa Rider said:
Does "that's not right" and then go on and on about what the west has done to Iran and the ME. Does that count?
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No, that would not be an attempt to justify, that would be perhaps an attempt to explain.

Justifying is to say that something is right. Saying 'if the West hadn't done X, Y, and Z maybe this wouldn't happen' doesn't say that it's okay, just that some actions can have predictable outcomes.
 
jackschmittusa said:
Soldiers act under the authority and command of the President, so an apology is not out of line.

Whose authority and command do the protesters act under? Not defending Karzai (because I too think he is an asshole), but maybe he is just too much of a coward to take the heat from his people for an apology that he doesn't feel obligated to make, even though he probably knows that we would appreciate one.
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These particular ones were under Karzai. The protester that killed two soldiers was an soldier that works for Karzai.

From the AP:

An Afghan soldier turned his gun on foreign troops, killing two American soldiers, during one riot outside a U.S. base in Nangarhar province on Thursday. It was the latest in a rising number of incidents where Afghan soldiers or policemen, or gunmen wearing their uniforms, have killed NATO forces.
 
jackschmittusa said:
Soldiers act under the authority and command of the President, so an apology is not out of line.

Whose authority and command do the protesters act under? Not defending Karzai (because I too think he is an asshole), but maybe he is just too much of a coward to take the heat from his people for an apology that he doesn't feel obligated to make, even though he probably knows that we would appreciate one.
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They were NATO troops and I have not seen an article indicating they were US troops under NATO.
 
eskimospy said:
No, that would not be an attempt to justify, that would be perhaps an attempt to explain.

Justifying is to say that something is right. Saying 'if the West hadn't done X, Y, and Z maybe this wouldn't happen' doesn't say that it's okay, just that some actions can have predictable outcomes.
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Then we have different ideas of "justification." Like saying "Obama shouldn't have done X, but the republicans <wall of text follows>. Well perhaps you are technically correct, but it's still like "Johnny did hit James, but Ed went around doing bad things and Ed was a criminal and Ed was......" The point shifts from Johnny to Ed and quite intentionally.

Still I'll go out and bet a hundred internet bucks.
 
Hayabusa Rider said:
So the prisoners were writing messages to each other thereby already desecrating the Qur'an. Not knowing what they should do with it they ask an Imam who tells them the proper way to dispose of it is to burn it which is what they did. You then piss on the airmen. Nice.
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The people are mad because they were burned with the trash.
Not because they were burned

edit- I pissed on the airmen?
 
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Orignal Earl said:
The people are mad because they were burned with the trash.
Not because they were burned
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As far as anyone could know burning was burning. There isn't a special burning rite for bibles or anything else. Maybe those who are having a fit should stop a minute and consider that it was handled as best as anyone knew unless you know for sure that this was done to piss people off like the guy who dressed up as a zombie Mohammed.
 
Hayabusa Rider said:
As far as anyone could know burning was burning. There isn't a special burning rite for bibles or anything else. Maybe those who are having a fit should stop a minute and consider that it was handled as best as anyone knew unless you know for sure that this was done to piss people off like the guy who dressed up as a zombie Mohammed.
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Man..it's taking the US a long time to learn these things.
And they are obviously very important.

Even more important than this
USMC Flag Manual, MCO 10520. Section G.4.c
 
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