Pakistan border strike: For NATO and US, 'sorry' is the hardest word (video)
How many ways can a diplomat say 鈥渟orry鈥� without actually apologizing?
As the current imbroglio between Pakistan and NATO and the US shows, there are several levels of remorse or sadness that fall far short of actually taking responsibility for an action.
In a joint statement by the US departments of State and Defense, Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Leon Panetta for the 鈥渓oss of life鈥� following a NATO bombardment of a Pakistani military border post along the Afghan border. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen tweeted his condolences to the families of the Pakistani soldiers,
The NATO bombing killed some 24 Pakistan soldiers. US military sources say they had informed Pakistan that it planned to conduct a joint Afghan-US special operations raid on a Taliban base along the Afghan border, but Pakistan says it never received word. The joint Afghan-US mission called for air support after taking heavy fire during its mission, and the bombs struck the Pakistani post.
Pakistan鈥檚 military chief Gen. Athar Abbas has called and said that 鈥淭his could have serious consequences in the level and extent of our cooperation鈥� with the Western military powers inside Afghanistan. Pakistan has closed its border points into Afghanistan to any further NATO or US military supply trucks.
What is missing in both the NATO and US military apologies is not just the word 鈥渟orry,鈥� but also any actual taking of responsibility for the actions. Calling for 鈥渋nvestigations鈥� or 鈥渃ommitting to transparency鈥� are ways for diplomats to suggest that the US or NATO will take future action. Expressing 鈥済rave concern鈥� or 鈥渞egret鈥� shows an emotional reaction, but it doesn鈥檛 indicate that the US or NATO admit any sort of guilt for an action they have taken.
, joined US diplomats in 鈥渞egret,鈥� but said that an apology would not be forthcoming until a full investigation was conducted.
By falling into a mumbly nonequivocation 鈥� look for the phrases 鈥渞eaffirm partnership鈥� or 鈥渞eaffirm commitment鈥� in the coming days of awkwardness 鈥� US policymakers are looking for ways to keep temperatures down and to prevent an escalation of rhetoric past the point of no return. The US and NATO may never be able to get that 鈥渓oving feeling鈥� back with Pakistan. But soothing words, without strings attached, can help both sides to save face and to back down.
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