So much for the effectiveness of apologies. The Jesse Jacksons and the Al Sharptons of the world demand apologies from whomever they think has uttered statements that can be used to exploit race. Thinking it will help resolve the crisis, the offending parties inevitably apologize. Unbeknownst to them (think Don Imus and Michael Richards), eliciting the apology is just phase one in the process of racial intimidation.
It appears Afghan president Hamid Karzai may be taking a similar path in the wake of the fallout from the Qur’an burning at Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. First, General John Allen issued a formal apology on video:
Then, Barack Obama apologized to Karzai.
Then, Americans were killed by rioters who were unmoved by such apologies.
Now this…
Via CNS News:
Three days after President Barack Obama dispatched his ambassador to Afghanistan to hand deliver a personal letter from the president of the United States to Afghan President Hamid Karzai apologizing because U.S. forces at Bagram Air Force Base had mistakenly burnt some Korans, Karzai has responded to the gesture in a statement broadcast live on Afghan television.
Karzai, according to a BBC translation of his remarks made Sunday, told the Afghan people he was speaking to them after discussing the matter with “jihadi leaders,” “prominent scholars,” and Afghan elected officials, and that he spoke for the “pure sentiments” of the “Afghan nation” and the “Islamic world,” when he said: “We call on the US government to bring the perpetrators of the act to justice and put them on trial and punish them.”
At the same time Karzai was demanding the prosecution and punishment of U.S. troops involved in the Koran-burning incident, he conceded that the U.S. government had indicated that the Koran burning “was not deliberate.”
As is the case when dealing with Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson, it is ill-advisable to offer an apology when one is demanded.
Karzai’s call for the prosecution of Americans serves as proof that we no apology should have been issued.