A senior State Department diplomat apologized Sunday for having told the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera on Saturday that there is a strong possibility history will show the United States displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity" in its handling of the Iraq war.
"Upon reading the transcript of my appearance on Al-Jazeera, I realized that I seriously misspoke by using the phrase 'there has been arrogance and stupidity' by the U.S. in Iraq," Alberto Fernandez said in an e-mail sent to reporters by the State Department and attributed to him. "This represents neither my views nor those of the State Department. I apologize," the statement said.
| "Hokay, Madame Secretary, I apologized, now can I have my lips back?" |
Fernandez gave the Qatar-based network the 35-minute interview from Washington, where he is director of the Office of Press and Public Diplomacy in the Bureau of Near East Affairs.
His apology Sunday differed from a defense of his comments that he made to CNN during an interview Saturday night. "History will decide what role the United States played," he told Al-Jazeera in Arabic, based on CNN translations. "And God willing, we tried to do our best in Iraq.
"But I think there is a big possibility (inaudible) for extreme criticism and because undoubtedly there was arrogance and stupidity from the United States in Iraq." (Watch what Fernandez told Al-Jazeera -- :19)
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