Around the Water Cooler: Apologizing for burning of the Koran

Question of the week: “Was President Barack Obama correct to apologize for the accidental burning of the Koran by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan?”

• Karen Anderson: “Yes. He was not the first president to have to do that.  Our military made an error. As commander-in-chief, he apologized. Unfortunately, our staff provided an excuse for the Taliban and al Qaeda to mobilize.”
• Dave Appling: “Of course. It’s called ‘damage control in the national interest.’ Obama is the commander in chief. His troops, however unintentionally, committed blasphemy, a capital offense under strict shari’a. Our in-country leaders are responsible for preventing such disasters. They didn’t, and they gifted Taliban rabble-rousers with a huge lever to stir up the faithful.”
• Chris Bryant: “Yes, as the saying goes, you can delegate authority but can only share responsibility. The president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces; therefore he is ultimately responsible for every action of every soldier operating under his command.”
• Dennis Kennedy: “Just as it would be appropriate to apologize for an accidental burning of a bible.”
• Julian Mancias: “Yes. In this hot political climate, fueling unnecessary emotions is incorrect and potentially harmful.”
• Henry Miller: “Certainly. It was a mistake (hopefully) and one for which an apology is appropriate. Now, how about an apology from the Afghans for burning the American flag? Seems only appropriate to me.”
• Lisa Pampuch: “Yes. Anyone who is criticizing President Obama’s statesmanlike decision to apologize would do well to remember that in 2008, then-President George W. Bush apologized for an incident in Iraq in which military personnel desecrated a Koran. I can only conclude that any critic of Obama’s apology who wasn’t making the same criticisms of Bush’s apology four years ago is a hypocritical partisan hack trying to score political points at any cost.”
• Jeff Smith: “No. Obama seems to be very sensitive to and respectful of the Koran, but does not seem to share the same reverence for the Bible, the U.S. flag, or anything else held sacred by Americans. We unintentionally burn a few books, they in turn murder our soldiers, burn our flag, etc, but Obama asks no apology for these. Two main points we all should learn from this: 1. We need to get out of Afghanistan. 2. We need to get Obama out of the White House.”