Derrick Jackson wrote a great column in the Globe today, titled
No Remorse. He hilights the fact that we still haven't yet actually said "Sorry, our bad" about the botched airstrike in Pakistan. The basic gist is that, through fighting Al Qaeda, we are becoming more like them.
The airstrike in Pakistan reaffirms how our behavior is plummeting in the direction of the evil we proclaim to fight. At home, we are appalled by drive-by shootings that take out innocent children. Abroad, the fly-by airstrike is the source of no remorse, with dead children and mothers taken very lightly.
I find it really weird that President Bush wouldn't offer an apology to the people of Pakistan who sovereignity we violated (albeit I assume with the permission of Pakistan's government) and especially to the family and friends of the innocents who "got in the way" of our bomb. Although, as it took him a couple years to acknowledge that 'mistakes were made' in the pre-war intelligence on Iraq, I suppose that shouldn't be that surprising. Here is what I wish President Bush would say:
"Dear people of Pakistan,
Last Friday, we acted in good faith on intelligence that a terrorist was supposed to be eating dinner in a specific place at a specific time. Unfortunately that intelligence was wrong. I, on the behalf of the American people, would like to extend to Pakistan an apology that innocent women and children were killed and injured because of our airstrike. I would like to emphasize that we will continue our fight to rid the world of al Qaeda, and will be doubly sure to avoid such unacceptable mistakes in the future."
What actions do you think the CIA/State Department/President should take because of this mistake (other than the "but how were WE supposed to know!?" crap they've already spilled)?