Newt Gingrich Criticizes U.S. Apology To Afghan Authorities For Burned Qurans On Military Base

Republican presidential candidate, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich appears on stage during a debate sponsored by CNN and the Republican Party of Arizona at the Mesa Arts Center February 22, 2012 in Mesa, Ariz. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

SPOKANE, Wash. -- GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich said Thursday a U.S. apology to Afghan authorities for burned Qurans on a military base was "astonishing" and undeserved.

Gingrich lashed out at President Barack Obama for the formal apology after copies of the Muslim holy book were found burned in a garbage pit on a U.S. air field earlier in the week

Obama's apology was announced Thursday morning. A few hours later, news organizations reported that an Afghan soldier had killed two U.S. troops and wounded others in retaliation for the Quran burning.

Campaigning in Washington state, Gingrich said Afghan President Hamid Karzi owes the U.S. an apology for the shootings.

"There seems to be nothing that radical Islamists can do to get Barack Obama's attention in a negative way and he is consistently apologizing to people who do not deserve the apology of the president of the United States period," Gingrich said.

"And, candidly, if Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, doesn't feel like apologizing then we should say good bye and good luck, we don't need to be here risking our lives and wasting our money on somebody who doesn't care."

Even before Gingrich's comments, White House spokesman Jay Carney sought to counter any criticism of the president's apology.

"It is wholly appropriate, given the sensitivities to this issue, the understandable sensitivities," Carney told reporters traveling to Miami with the president on Air Force One. "His primary concern as commander in chief is the safety of the American men and women in Afghanistan, of our military and civilian personnel there. And it was absolutely the right thing to do."

Later Thursday, Gingrich continued his criticism of Obama's foreign policy during a rally in the town of Coeur d'Alene in northern Idaho, a stop in one of the 10 states that votes on March 6. He was spending Friday in Washington state, which holds caucuses a week from Saturday.

"This president has gone so far at appeasing radical Islamists that he is failing in his duty as commander in chief," Gingrich said.

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Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Shannon Dininny contributed to this report.

Comments

[terry63]

11:17 PM on 03/01/2012

There is a difference between a conflict and a war. A conflict is waged by a politician who is looking to influence another Government, Via Force. He will waste a Thousand lives, in order to get his point across, in the name of whatever Indoctrination that he see's fit. He will alway's loose this effort due to a half and half policy. A policy not to insult others and to bring in what ever he considers to be Light.
A war , is fought for survival, and with War comes the mindset that anything goes to include 'Nukes" (nakisaki, Hiroshima) The man fighting a war has time on his side. A man fighting a conflic, will soon run out of money and political power. -terry63-

[Nancy Lockshier]

09:37 PM on 02/27/2012

I think it is time for Americans to decide if our President is failing as a commander in chief. He is not representing Americans in a good way. He was all in favor of sending soldiers to Afghanistan and now they shoot our soldiers because they burnt books that contained secret codes to be used against American soldiers and we are not getting all the news correctly. They did not burn books because they were of a different religious connotation but because the enemy was sure that no one would check the books to see that information was being passed using them. I don't believe Newt would allow anyone to burn a religious book but if they were using a Bible to smuggle codes to hurt soldiers then I would agree burn the bible too.

[Abelardo Perez]

02:50 AM on 02/27/2012

newt doesn't care that 2 soldiers were killed and it wounded others, as long as HIS invisible master is not offended.

[terry63]

11:18 PM on 03/01/2012

I didnt see him apologise to the Taliban. Did you?

[Abelardo Perez]

11:37 AM on 03/02/2012

no, but he's criticizing the president for apoligizing to afghan authorities for the extremist christians burning qurans

[Eli Cabelly]

09:42 PM on 02/26/2012

Hey, let's go burn some Bibles in the various arabic embassies in the USA. Let's post that all over the news and see what these hypocritical right wing Christians think about that.

[terry63]

11:24 PM on 03/01/2012

We would be Pissed, but no one would die, This is not what Christ taught us. Mathew,5 and read. No seriously READ IT! I would not that you be ignorant of Christ my freind, and Christ is not a religion. It is as it was with Araham. ( who was by no means perfect) A personal thing between the two of you. But you will not read, your mind is made up.

[terry63]

11:27 PM on 03/01/2012

Mathew 11.

[oftenon]

07:50 PM on 02/25/2012

surprising that Newt wouldn't have more identification with being dumped and burned - oh, right...his mind rejects the memory that's exactly what his own party did it to him - or that he did it to two wives. Gee, this politician stuff"s a snap for amnesiac demagogues!

[knowledgeispowerNOW]

12:05 AM on 02/26/2012

I think we should read all holy texts in order to understand where everyone is coming from. Burning books of ANY sort is not the answer. It is just an fast and ignorant way to continue the torch of hate. Apology or not, if you you travel around the world, you will find that we as Americans are viewed in a different light. There's a lot of negative judgement on us a people. It is a tricky situation either way. So to Obama, I say, you have a lot of guts going with your gut! I believe that this is what a true American does.

[oftenon]

03:54 PM on 02/26/2012

There is no question that the president acted from statesmanlike principles and respect for freedom of religion America espouses... the default belligerence from the right which entangled US in longest running- and falsely conjured wars is indistinguishable from jihadist hatred.

[moebalot]

03:56 PM on 02/25/2012

Forget about the Newt he is slowly fading away, however the Obama Apology tours and pontifications have to stop before every country in the world disrespects us. Doesn't Obama understand that he can only electioneer in this country and be elected to office; there is no President of the World to campaign his way to power.

[OOOOOMY]

01:21 PM on 02/25/2012

President Obama apologizing for U.S. forces having mistakenly burned some Qur'ans

Remember as we here in America watched our president and Commander and Chief of The United States of America bow publicly to Arab Chiefs that control the worlds oil supply. A president with hardly a word spoken on Egypt, holding in jails American Citizens awaiting a trial, yet we continue to send that same country millions of our dollars. A president and a media that say nothing much about Islam, that peaceful religion, that continues to slaughter hundreds, if not thousands of Christians, burn down their churches throughout the Arab world. A president who has asked Iran to please give us back our drone plane that fell from the skies over Iran. Watched as in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan informed our enemies as to when would leave their countries despite all military commanders advice in the field logistically speaking, now witness the resurgence and spread of radical Islam.

Basically, Silence from the media and this president...so as not to offend Islam.

Look Up CNS News:
Taliban's Response to Obama's Apology: 'Kill Them, Beat Them, Take Them as Prisoners' | CNSNews.com

[marrmae1]

01:20 PM on 02/25/2012

Neutral question to the community. Why is it, that when you post something on HP, sometimes the moderators censor it. Then, a couple of hours later, you post the same exact thing again, it takes hold, and voila', you have a successful post? Bizarre and frustrating!!!

[OOOOOMY]

09:48 AM on 02/25/2012

This is a leader.

[Abelardo Perez]

02:53 AM on 02/27/2012

you've got to be kidding. we should lead by example, not with ignorance.

[Slangwhang]

09:10 AM on 02/25/2012

Funny how the Bush SURGE worked in IRAQ, but Barry's mini SURGE seems to be in real trouble!

[juan321]

08:30 AM on 02/25/2012

Obama should never have sent troops to Afganistan, he should have ended the war like he promised.. instead he has put us in wars with Yemen, Lybia, Egypt, Iraq and possibly Syria and Iran... yet Bush is called the "war monger"?

[mjtaylor22]

09:15 AM on 02/25/2012

the people who0 attacked us on 9/11 were fromt this placve it was also Bin ladens base of operations./.......wyy attack the palce that attacked us I guess is what you are saying..but yo make no sense

[robtral62961]

01:29 PM on 02/25/2012

Look at who is beniffiting from wars...Muslims...

[William A]

08:29 AM on 02/25/2012

If I want to burn my own property, it seems like that should be up to me, be it bibles or qurans.

I wonder how many science books the taliban have burned. Books which, by the way, contain ACTUAL truth.

[juan321]

08:22 AM on 02/25/2012

the president should have defended our desire to keep troops safe no matter what.. instead he apologizes for the troops doing what they needed to do to protect their security! O has to go, enough apologizing!

[gravedigger101]

08:46 AM on 02/25/2012

like that " O HAS TO GO"!
we are the United States of Amercia, the worlds super power, we do not apologize. If any one should apologize it should be the people that killed our soldiers.

[Filsthoughts]

06:10 PM on 02/27/2012

I hope you were being sarcastic.

That's precisely the attitude that stirs up international hatred that gets you in trouble in the first place. With the world being such a vast and odd place, there will be people who will act on that hatred. The only people who suffer from an arrogant and hypocritical America in the long term are Americans.

Remember a man and his militia attacked the US. The US attacked not just one complete nation and it's entire inhabitants but two. So, the general public of those countries do not and will probably never see the US as anything but an invading force. And naturally, people don't like invaders so when emotions are already running high it's not smart to aggravate it. Ultimately, all it takes is one person to react to his emotions and well, it's never pretty.

[mjtaylor22]

09:20 AM on 02/25/2012

holding hands kissing onthe lips..that is what bush did. and im so surprised he sdidn't support gay marriage.......

[aratny]

08:01 AM on 02/25/2012

im sorry newt who?