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editorial | US and Pakistan

Knowing when to say sorry

  December 23, 2011

Last month, a NATO airstrike killed 26 Pakistani soldiers in the area near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border . There was no evidence that US forces knew they were firing on Pakistani troops. But regardless of their intentions, the Americans were responsible for their actions. Therefore, the Defense Department’s formal statement of regret yesterday is an appropriate gesture. It should help ease tensions between the two countries and calm the increasing furor of anti-American opinion in Pakistan.

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