Thursday, February 23, 2012
U.S. apologises to Karzai for Bagram incident
From The Hindu
The United States has expressed deep regret at the Koran-burning incidents at Bagram, Afghanistan, with Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta saying, “I apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms. These actions do not represent the views of the U.S. military.”
According to reports copies of the Koran were “inadvertently” incinerated at Bagram airbase after alleged suspicions that “Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other.”
‘Unfortunate'
Mr. Panetta said that International Security Assistance Force Commander General John Allen had notified him of the “deeply unfortunate incident involving the inappropriate treatment of religious materials, including the Koran, at Bagram Airbase,” on Tuesday.
General Allen and U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday to apologise again for the incident at Bagram airbase, the President's office said.
Pointing out that the U.S. soldiers “honour and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception,” Mr. Panetta said that he supported General Allen's swift and decisive action to investigate this matter jointly with the Afghan government and would ensure that the U.S. took “all steps necessary and appropriate so that this never happens again.”
His sentiments were echoed by remarks made by White House Spokesman Jay Carney, who said at a media briefing, “We apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms.” He also described the incident as “regrettable.”
The United States has expressed deep regret at the Koran-burning incidents at Bagram, Afghanistan, with Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta saying, “I apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms. These actions do not represent the views of the U.S. military.”
According to reports copies of the Koran were “inadvertently” incinerated at Bagram airbase after alleged suspicions that “Taliban prisoners were using the books to pass messages to each other.”
‘Unfortunate'
Mr. Panetta said that International Security Assistance Force Commander General John Allen had notified him of the “deeply unfortunate incident involving the inappropriate treatment of religious materials, including the Koran, at Bagram Airbase,” on Tuesday.
General Allen and U.S. Deputy Defence Secretary Ashton Carter called on Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Wednesday to apologise again for the incident at Bagram airbase, the President's office said.
Pointing out that the U.S. soldiers “honour and respect the religious practices of the Afghan people, without exception,” Mr. Panetta said that he supported General Allen's swift and decisive action to investigate this matter jointly with the Afghan government and would ensure that the U.S. took “all steps necessary and appropriate so that this never happens again.”
His sentiments were echoed by remarks made by White House Spokesman Jay Carney, who said at a media briefing, “We apologise to the Afghan people and disapprove of such conduct in the strongest possible terms.” He also described the incident as “regrettable.”
Labels: Afghanistan, Bagram, Hamid Karzai, U.S.
# posted by Narayan Lakshman @ 2:13 PM 
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