A renowned American researcher, writer and anti-terror expert has advised President Barrack Obama to apologise for the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in the last month NATO air strike.
“The United States must swiftly act to rectify this mess first by apologizing. Second, the US military must hold to account those officers who are responsible for this tragedy,” C Christine Fair, Assistant Professor, Center for Peace and Security Studies Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown University Washington, D.C said.
“Not only should the appropriate personnel be demoted or ousted per the severity of their negligence, but prosecution may also be merited,” she said in her article in the Foreign Policy magazine on Friday.
“Despite the (US inquiry) report’s tedious efforts to parse culpability, it is obvious that most of the onus falls on the United States and NATO. So why does the United States steadfastly refuse to do the right thing and issue a clear apology to Pakistan and its citizenry in and out of uniform,” she said.
Christine Fair, who has served as a political officer to the United Nations Assistance Mission to Afghanistan in Kabul, said that the statement expressed regret, but neither President Barack Obama nor Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has issued a forthright apology.
“They (Pakistanis) want nothing more than an apology from Obama. Unfortunately, neither is likely to do so given the toxic atmosphere in Washington and the looming presidential campaign,” she said.
Talking about the findings of the US investigations, she said the details of the report, and its efforts to apportion blame across all sides, will not satisfy Pakistanis, who feel they have suffered too much and received too little from this partnership over the last 10 years.
Writing about the tension between the US and Pakistan, she said neither the United States nor Pakistan will benefit from a continued and escalating standoff.
“America needs Pakistan to conclude its Afghanistan misadventure,” she said.
Christine Fair said the NATO strike, and the US response, battered the ever-strained US-Pakistan relationship, adding that Pakistan immediately cut off ground routes for logistical support of the US-led war in Afghanistan, and insisted that the United States vacate Shamsi, one of the airfields from which the US launched drone attacks.
Obama asked to apologize for killing Pakistani soldiers
