President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
A variety of news outlets are reporting this morning that Afghan president Hamid Karzai has received a letter of apology from President Obama over the burning of copies of the Koran by American servicemembers. This comes after three days of angry protests as well as news this morning that a member of the Afghan military shot and killed two NATO soldiers.
According to the reports, the letter expresses "deep regret for the reported incident" and offers the president's "sincere apologies." The other quote provided from the letter says, "The error was inadvertent; I assure you that we will take the appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible."
My question is this? Is this a another example of the president diminishing our stature abroad in a way that weakens us in the eyes of our enemies? Or a sensible act of realpolitik that offers an essentially meaningless gesture to help quell the violence and thus save additional service members lives.
Despite my willingness to join the Talk Radio bandwagon for the former case, a nagging alternative voice pulls me toward the latter. The apology concedes nothing meaningful but in a part of the world in which pre-pubescent girls are traded as property to placate slighted "honor," the letter represents a canny trade and an effective, costless gesture.
But I'm sure someone will argue the opposite case.
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Aug '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Doesn't an apology in some way legitimatize the offended party's response to said offense?
May '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Absolutely. But imagining this in a personal situation, wouldn't the bigger person offer up an apology even for something they deem unworthy if it aids the situation. In other words: who cares?
Edited on February 23, 2012 at 4:12pmNov '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Past Carteresque. Obama-eseque. Obamesque? Obamian? How about Obaminable?
Sep '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
I would suggest that the practice of foreign policy--at the senior diplomatic level--consists largely of issuing statements of apology, concern, loyalty, and eternal friendship. And, particularly with various Muslim states and principalities, there is a longstanding precedent for flowery rhetoric making all kinds of assurances. (Including a letter to somebody or other in the early 19th century, specifically disavowing that America is a Christian nation--which gets brought up every now and again by the Left.)
Honestly, I don't think any administration could handle this much differently. The prisoners were using the pages of their korans to send messages to one another. The guards stopped it, and took the korans away. They didn't want to re-issue them to anybody else--they destroyed them.
[Cue riots and mayhem by zealous adherents of the "religion of peace," spurred on by the local imamate.]
Okay--so the next time the guards seize korans with secret messages, what will they do with them?
Oct '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
I want to know what this comment from his letter means: to include holding accountable those responsible.
It was inadvertent, it was a mistake. So does that mean those who made the mistake will no longer be on trash burning duty? Hopefully nothing more.
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
I have no problem with this apology. Something bad happened and it offended the people of Afghanistan.
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being to Afghan sensibilities. His HHS mandate is deeply offensive to religious adherents who live in this country in part because of the First Amendment protections we have. Just because we won't be killing people or burning buildings or threatening the military doesn't mean that our concerns are less valid. In fact, one could argue the opposite.
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
John, I read this in the NYT but when I went back to the story I thought it was in, it as gone. Do you have a link to a story on this -- that the Korans were being used to send messages?
Oct '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
John: I haven't had time to follow the details on this story so thanks for filling in some of the blanks.
I am all for diplomacy and saying what's needs to be said - after all I am the mother of 4. That having been said, I hope Pres Obama is not throwing anyone under the bus.
Jun '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Annefy: John: I haven't had time to follow the details on this story so thanks for filling in some of the blanks.
I am all for diplomacy and saying what's needs to be said - after all I am the mother of 4. That having been said, I hope Pres Obama is not throwing anyone under the bus. · 6 minutes ago
What day is it?
Jun '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.: I have no problem with this apology. Something bad happened and it offended the people of Afghanistan.
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being to Afghan sensibilities. His HHS mandate is deeply offensive to religious adherents who live in this country in part because of the First Amendment protections we have. Just because we won't be killing people or burning buildings or threatening the military doesn't mean that our concerns are less valid. In fact, one could argue the opposite. · 11 minutes ago
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being to Afghan sensibilities.
You're not engaging in a little politically correct self-editing, are you, Molly? Surely the word you're looking for is "Muslim".
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Brian Watt
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being to Afghan sensibilities. His HHS mandate is deeply offensive to religious adherents who live in this country in part because of the First Amendment protections we have. Just because we won't be killing people or burning buildings or threatening the military doesn't mean that our concerns are less valid. In fact, one could argue the opposite. · 11 minutes ago
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being toAfghansensibilities.
You're not engaging in a little politically correct self-editing, are you, Molly? Surely the word you're looking for is "Muslim". · 11 minutes ago
No, I'm not. I believe that the Obamacare encroachment hurts all individuals and religious individuals in particular, which may include Muslims, Jews, Christians and more. So the correct comparison is American sensibilities to Afghan (even though I recognize that most Afghans are Muslim and that they're killing or otherwise getting rid of the ones who aren't).
Jun '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Brian Watt
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.:
I just wish that President Obama were as sensitive to religious sensibilities here in this country as he is being to Afghan sensibilities. His HHS mandate is deeply offensive to religious adherents who live in this country in part because of the First Amendment protections we have. ...
You're not engaging in a little politically correct self-editing, are you, Molly? Surely the word you're looking for is "Muslim". · 11 minutes ago
No, I'm not. I believe that the Obamacare encroachment hurts all individuals and religious individuals in particular, which may include Muslims, Jews, Christians and more. So the correct comparison is American sensibilities to Afghan (even though I recognize that most Afghans are Muslim and that they're killing or otherwise getting rid of the ones who aren't). · 3 minutes ago
I was under the impression that this was an issue of religious sensibilities being offended not Afghan liberties being encroached upon. Last time I checked the Koran is the religious text of Muslims. Afghans are not attacking US forces in Kabul in this incident because they are Afghans but because they are offended Muslims.
Jul '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Why have Obama and the military apologized? Korans were being used to encode messages to fellow jihadis. What else are we supposed to do with these materials once found? Maybe Obama and General Allen should have asked why the Afghans feel it is legitimate to riot, pillage, and murder when an inanimate object is harmed.
May '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Agreed, Byron.
Aug '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
I think the apology was warranted.
Agents of the US government burned copies of their holy book. That's pretty insulting. I think it's fitting that the chief executive apologize for the act, even if it was inadvertant.
Now, it would be nice if Karzai would apologize for all the Western soldiers who've been killed by his citizens, but whattayagonnado?
Jul '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Karzai is a bipolar crook and deserves nothing. It is like apologizing to Jesse Jackson. An open letter apologizing to the Afghan people maybe. We will leave these fools to their folly soon enough and they can all be enslaved by those who take their book too seriously.
Mar '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
I believe burning is a preferred method of disposal of unneeded/damaged Catholic Bibles and other sacred objects. Burning the Koran should have been sold as a simple expression of ecumenism.
May '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Except that there is a clear precedent here: these guys don't like us burning it. So they should have locked the books up and left them alone. The military was too efficient for its own good in this instance.
Jul '11
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
What a bunch of idiots we are to be there any way. Either kill everything that moves that could be an enemy or leave. US police actions are a joke and our soldiers know it. Our troops are not happy with our entire policy and a decade of stupidity should be enough.
Three months ago I was shooting with a Marine sniper, well I was enviously watching him work his 308 like stud. He left the service because he cannot handle the ROE anymore. He watched some teen planting an IED and was refused permission from above to grease him. Unbelievable!
Go, quit, leave, vamanos. We lose and whoever fills the vacuum can fight the warlords and their poppy fields.
It was never our intention to win this war by the way so contemplate this, what was our intention?
Dec '10
Re: President Apologizes to Karzai: Nixonian or Carteresque?
Trace Urdan
Absolutely. But imagining this in a personal situation, wouldn't the bigger person offer up an apology even for something they deem unworthy if it aids the situation. In other words: who cares? · 5 hours ago
Edited 4 hours ago
The analogy would be requiring an apology of Obama for ordering the disposal of Osama Bin Laden's body at sea, rather than turning it over to his family for burial.
Having not seen the letter, I don't know if it mentions that the Afghan detainees -- the Taliban terrorists -- themselves defaced the Korans by writing on the pages. The apology should have been framed as, "Taliban detainees were found to have defaced the Holy Qu'ran by writing messages on the pages. On advice from Muslim religious experts on how to dispose of the defaced books, we incinerated them. If that offends anyone, we apologize; our intent was to deal with the desecration of the Holy Qu'ran by terrorists."
Incidentally, the preferred method for disposing of Jewish holy books is formal burial.