THIS is apropos of the article “Why’s it so hard to say ‘sorry’?” (Jan 2) by Irfan Husain. He laments as to why Americans refuse to apologise, especially when their own report places substantial blame on them.
However, this is not the only thing lacking. The unveiling of the report should have been accompanied by a formal announcement for taking necessary action against those found guilty but we saw nothing of the kind.
Some vague announcements are being made now of some possible action. This shows that Americans are good at troublemaking but not all that proficient in troubleshooting.
We know about Obama’s bold, firm and principled stand on settlements -- ‘freeze means freeze’ -- and his unfortunate 180-degree turn after meeting Israeli resistance. He ended up annoying both Israelis and Arabs.
Now, this can hardly be described as a masterly stroke in foreign relations.
Unfortunately, Obama and his administration try to make up for their inability in facing up to Israel by being extra-tough with Pakistan.
At a time when his lieutenants are supposedly trying to repair the damage done by their earlier folly, Obama has thought it fit to impose additional restrictions on aid to Pakistan.
Irfan Husain ignored the fact that the Nato assault was the eighth incident of its type and about 50 soldiers died in earlier attacks which were investigated by Americans but failed to come up with something significant.
The present most serious incident is being treated by the Americans more like a motor vehicle accident where both drivers, the foggy weather and the faulty road surface, have been held responsible.
Our army’s refusal to participate in the US investigations was that their own investigations had proved beyond doubt that the killing could not have been anything but deliberate.
As for the conspiracy theory, prior to the attack, there had been a constant stream of US military and civilian officials visiting us, putting pressure on Pakistan to launch North Waziristan operation immediately, warning Pakistan of ‘serious consequences’ in case of inaction, and threatening to take matters in their own hands.
This clearly seems to be a brinkmanship game taken too far. Also, the US commander in Afghanistan, Gen John Allen, refused to guarantee against such incidents in future. So, the conspiracy theory is not entirely without justification after all.
Public anger against America has been building up over the years because of anti-Muslim policies of the military-industrial complex and AIPAC-controlled US administration towards Palestinians. Then there was Iraq invasion, and now Afghanistan and Pakistan, with Iran and Syria among the next US targets.
The US did indeed help Muslims in Bosnia and also Pakistan following earthquake and floods but these good deeds have been outweighed by their grotesque acts which show no sign of any improvement in the foreseeable future.
S.R.H. HASHMI Karachi