Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness?

Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (Full Version)

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erieangel -> Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:18:39 PM)
Sunday, on two separate news shows on two networks, Santorum accused Obama of being weak for apologizing to the Muslim world for the Quran burning in Afghanistan. Santorum claimed there was no need for Obama to apologize because the burning of the holy books was "inadvertent". The way I see it, the military made a mistake. Obama then apologized for that mistake as commander in chief. I guess Santorum either A) has never made a mistake or B) has never apologized for that mistake because hey, it was a mistake.

SoftBonds -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:31:00 PM)
I remember when Ann Coulter was making offensive statements about the entire arab world, while our troops were in harms way. Obviously there is no way to measure the negative affect on our military operations her comments caused, or to calculate how many American soldiers came home in a casket instead of whole and healthy because of her. But needless to say she never really apologized, just some mealy mouthed "I'm sorry, I'll use a different insult," apology. It is hard to overemphasize the extent to which face and trust are as important, or more important, than money and guns in the parts of the world where our troops live and work. A person who would like to be friendly towards the US can be forced into opposition for the darnedest reasons, and faith is at the top of the list. So let me ask the question this way. If Obama's apology did show weakness, how many of our soldiers lives would it have to save to make it worth is? Or the opposite question. How many mothers have to get a letter saying they will never again be able to hug their son. How many wives need to tell their children daddy is never coming home, to save the US's reputation? Because when we disrespect a religion (unless, of course, we apologize), we get the followers of that religion angry at us. Some of those folks then start shooting. And the folks who get shot at are, IMHO, some of the best people we have in this nation. Folks who asked the question "Am I willing to die for my country," and answered "Yes." I would hope that no president would spend those lives carelessly. Maybe an apology isn't so much to give, to save the lives of our soldiers?

TheHeretic -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:41:20 PM)
I think much more than an apology is needed. We should demonstrate to the muslim world our committment to the protection of their holy book by immediately beheading any detainee caught defiling a Koran by writting messages in it, to pass around the jailhouse. Of course, I also think there is no such time as "too soon," to get the hell out of Afghanistan.

kdsub -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:42:45 PM)
What in the hell are we still doing there? Those people hate us...and I'm not too fond of them. I say leave them to the 6th century and tell them if we have to come back we will bomb them to the 21st century. No...he should not apologize for an obvious mistake...but...we should do what the people of Afghanistan would like. If that wish is for us to leave their country then lets leave as quick as we can. We accomplished our mission and we have no business trying to change their way of life to suit us. Butch

TheHeretic -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:57:28 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: SoftBonds Because when we disrespect a religion (unless, of course, we apologize), we get the followers of that religion angry at us. Some of those folks then start shooting. Well, not quite. Let's keep this honest. When we get followers of a particular religion angry, they start shooting at us. And they get "let's go kill people in the streets" angry over cartoons. Think the Mormons are thrilled with all the mockery of their faith, these days? Any deadly riots and bombings going on in Salt Lake City? Did the theater in New York where, "The Book of Mormon" is playing have any beheading outside the backstage door?

SoftBonds -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 4:59:26 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: TheHeretic quote: ORIGINAL: SoftBonds Because when we disrespect a religion (unless, of course, we apologize), we get the followers of that religion angry at us. Some of those folks then start shooting. Well, not quite. Let's keep this honest. When we get followers of a particular religion angry, they start shooting at us. And they get "let's go kill people in the streets" angry over cartoons. Think the Mormons are thrilled with all the mockery of their faith, these days? Any deadly riots and bombings going on in Salt Lake City? Did the theater in New York where, "The Book of Mormon" is playing have any beheading outside the backstage door? You are right, other than Christians and Muslims, I haven't seen that behavior from religious folks...

tazzygirl -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:02:39 PM)
Its Santorum... consider the source

DarkSteven -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:06:00 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: erieangel Sunday, on two separate news shows on two networks, Santorum accused Obama of being weak for apologizing to the Muslim world for the Quran burning in Afghanistan. Santorum claimed there was no need for Obama to apologize because the burning of the holy books was "inadvertent". The fact that there have been riots and killings over there indicate that Santorum's view that it's not a big deal, is not universally held. I believe that the need for an apology is related to the hurt felt by the injured party, not what the injuring party would feel. In other words, the fact that a Catholic doesn't hold the Quran in high regard is irrelevant. I also believe that it doesn't damage US power overseas if we apologize for our mistakes. And that Santorum is fumbling for issues if he thinks this is worth mentioning. Finally, the fact that our cultures are so different does, like other posters have mentioned, mean that a lot of friction is inevitable and that we're likely misplaced there.

kalikshama -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:27:11 PM)
quote: The fact that there have been riots and killings over there indicate that Santorum's view that it's not a big deal, is not universally held. I believe that the need for an apology is related to the hurt felt by the injured party, not what the injuring party would feel. In other words, the fact that a Catholic doesn't hold the Quran in high regard is irrelevant. Agreed. Perhaps this will speed us out of there. 2 U.S. Officers Slain; Advisers to Exit Kabul Ministries The official cautioned that no one was “panicking,” but that the initial reaction to the growing hostility from Afghans was to convince more officials that the pace of the American withdrawal needed to quicken, and that the sooner the mission became one of training and counterterrorism, the better. “You look at this as clearly and objectively as you can; what you see is that we’re in a weaker position than we were maybe two or three or four weeks ago,” said the official, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing internal deliberations. “I’m not sure anyone knows the clear way forward. It’s gotten more and more complicated. It’s fraught.”

SoftBonds -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:28:54 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: DarkSteven quote: ORIGINAL: erieangel Sunday, on two separate news shows on two networks, Santorum accused Obama of being weak for apologizing to the Muslim world for the Quran burning in Afghanistan. Santorum claimed there was no need for Obama to apologize because the burning of the holy books was "inadvertent". The fact that there have been riots and killings over there indicate that Santorum's view that it's not a big deal, is not universally held. I believe that the need for an apology is related to the hurt felt by the injured party, not what the injuring party would feel. In other words, the fact that a Catholic doesn't hold the Quran in high regard is irrelevant. I also believe that it doesn't damage US power overseas if we apologize for our mistakes. And that Santorum is fumbling for issues if he thinks this is worth mentioning. Finally, the fact that our cultures are so different does, like other posters have mentioned, mean that a lot of friction is inevitable and that we're likely misplaced there. Unfortunately, I don't think this was Santorum fumbling for issues. There seems to be a group of people on the Right who feel that the US is incapable of doing anything wrong, and therefore should never apologize. They have attacked presidents before for apologizing for our past actions. Santorum is trying to make sure he gets those votes. I think the US has made mistakes. It is my nation, but if we don't acknowledge our mistakes, how can we learn from them? Imagine a middle east where the US had not overthrown the democratically elected government of Iran and imposed the rule of a Shah, who was so unpopular it led to a revolt led by religious leaders and the current Iranian regime. Imagine a world where the US had not funded a group of Islamic militants led by a guy named Osama Bin Ladin in opposition to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. Heck, imagine a world in which the US didn't force the Seminole Indians to move out of Florida at a cost of millions of lives? My country, right or wrong, doesn't mean my country is always right...

Hillwilliam -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:30:17 PM)
If it were a stack of Bibles being burned by Muslims, Santorum and Gingrich would be frothing at the mouth and trying to call out the Delta Force.

searching4mysir -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:46:37 PM)
FR He wants to apologize for burned Korans in another country but has no problem on trampling on First Amendment rights in regards to the Cotnraception Mandate. He's just a common hypocrite in my eyes, and always has been.

kalikshama -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:50:30 PM)
quote: He wants to apologize for burned Korans in another country but has no problem on trampling on First Amendment rights in regards to the Cotnraception Mandate. That's been in place since 2000 - the only thing new is the lack of a copay.

tazzygirl -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 5:53:19 PM)
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. I do not see how he is prohibiting the exercise of religion. Care to explain?

Winterapple -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:03:23 PM)
FR It wasn't a sign of weakness it was a sign of decency, civility, strength and intelligence. Santorum was naturally thrown by this as he is so obviously lacking in all these departments. Civilized people apologize for their mistakes when they effect other people no matter how small. And people were hurt by this, not physically but hurt and offended. As commander in chief it was correct for him to apologize. It also offered a chance for him to restate before the world what did and did not happen. In all ways he acted from a place of strength.

Owner59 -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:04:46 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: TheHeretic I think much more than an apology is needed. We should demonstrate to the muslim world our committment to the protection of their holy book by immediately beheading any detainee caught defiling a Koran by writting messages in it, to pass around the jailhouse. Of course, I also think there is no such time as "too soon," to get the hell out of Afghanistan. There`s no doubt that the con leaders know this kind of stuff puts our troops at EXTRA risk on top of all the other dangers they face everyday there. Considering it`s already gotten some our GIs killed,they should shut the fuck up. Shame on them. "Gingrich, Palin Critical of Obama's Apology for Quran Burning" http://www.christianpost.com/news/gingrich-palin-critical-of-obamas-apology-for-quran-burning-70256/ "Santorum: Obama Wrong to Apologize for Koran Burning" http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/02/santorum-obama-wrong-to-apologize-for-quran-burning/ It seems like in republican-world,everyone is trying to out awful each other to be the meanest and nastiest guy .Weird,how that`s a common theme among cons and thought of as strength.

Lucylastic -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:17:30 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: kalikshama quote: He wants to apologize for burned Korans in another country but has no problem on trampling on First Amendment rights in regards to the Cotnraception Mandate. That's been in place since 2000 - the only thing new is the lack of a copay. facts mean nothing apparently Regarding the OP, no Obama wasnt wrong to apologise. sinking to the depths of SOME(muslims) is not a civilised response from "the best country in the world",but that is what is claimed by the rabid right, until it comes to war..in one of the debates topics the other night, Santorum described a situation, that could so easily have been moulded to the right wing candidates threats, nuclear attack or war with iran and sabre rattling. just by changing the religions and the countries around. Ron Paul was the only one who had the perfect response. Apologising seen as a weakness by the weakest of all, and probably the reason the right in the race right now, think they can lie and accuse, knowing they will never apologise for anything.

Hillwilliam -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:21:20 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: searching4mysir FR He wants to apologize for burned Korans in another country but has no problem on trampling on First Amendment rights in regards to the Cotnraception Mandate. He's just a common hypocrite in my eyes, and always has been. What has health care to do with the subject at hand? I smell a redirect.

subrob1967 -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:24:26 PM)
Heres the apology President Obama should have offered.

xssve -> RE: Is Obama's apology for Quran burning a sign of weakness? (2/26/2012 6:43:24 PM)
I don't think anybody can be surprised anymore by the fact that Santorum will have us in a nuclear war by the end of his first year in office, god wills it.

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