Should President Obama have apologized for the inadvertent burning of Qurans?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says President Obama's apology over the burning of Qurans in Afghanistan was "the right thing to do." But not everyone agrees.
The president has come under fire for apologizing to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for something Obama calls "inadvertent" and an "error."
The Qurans that were burned were among religious materials seized from an Afghan detainee facility.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum says the president's apology "shows weakness." He says that the burning of Qurans was a mistake and that the president of the United States shouldn't apologize for something that was unintentional.
Mitt Romney says that for many people,Obama's apology "sticks in their throat," seeing as we've lost thousands of troops there.
And Newt Gingrich has compared Obama's apology to "surrender." Gingrich said Karzai is the one who should be apologizing for the deaths of U.S. troops.
At least four American troops have been killed in apparent revenge attacks in the past week. Dozens of Afghans have also been killed and hundreds more wounded.
The ongoing violence is why Clinton believes the president is right to try to calm the situation. She said "it is out of hand, and it needs to stop."
Clinton adds that the ongoing criticism of Obama is inflaming the situation in Afghanistan.
Here’s my question to you: Should President Obama have apologized for the inadvertent burning of Qurans?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should anything be done about the pastor in Florida who burned the Quran?
Only about 30 people attended a Florida pastor's Quran burning last month, an event that followed a "mock trial" on the holy book of Islam. At the time, the Rev. Terry Jones claimed the event was a success.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2011/images/04/04/art.terry.jones.jpg caption="Pastor Terry Jones."]
He has vowed to put the Islamic prophet Mohammed on trial next.
The actions of this publicity seeking lunatic fringe "pastor" are sparking scores of anti-American protests - many of which turned violent - in cities throughout Afghanistan. More than 20 people were killed over the weekend in retaliation for the burning of the Quran.
Gen. David Petraeus, the allied commander of the 150,000 troops in Afghanistan, says Jones' stunt poses new threats to the security of U.S. soldiers fighting a war against the Taliban.
You may remember Jones had threatened to do something like this once before, but he was talked out of it after people like Petraeus and eventually President Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke up.
But Jones just couldn't stay out of the spotlight, and now Afghan President Hamid Karzai has called on the White House, Congress and the United Nations to bring him to justice, whatever that means.
It's not clear he broke any U.S. laws, just the law against stupidity.
Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said some members of Congress were considering some kind of action against Jones.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said Congress may have to think about limits for freedom of speech when words and actions enrage U.S. enemies and endanger the lives of U.S. citizens overseas.
Here's my question to you: Should anything be done about the pastor in Florida who burned the Quran?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Senate hold hearings on Muslims' rights in U.S.?
The House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing entitled "The Extent of Radicalization in the American Muslim Community and that Community's Response" on Capitol Hill on March 10. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
A Senate Judiciary subcommittee led by Democratic Dick Durbin of Illinois will hold a hearing next week on Muslim-Americans' civil rights. Aren't they the same as every other Americans' civil rights? And is this what needs our immediate attention at this time? Sometimes the people in Washington can make you want to stick sharp objects in your eyes.
The Durbin circus comes just weeks after the circus led by Rep. Peter King, R-New York. He held congressional hearings on the topic of the radicalization of Muslim Americans. Those hearings sparked protests and demonstrations. Critics called them a witch hunt and said they sent the wrong message to Muslim-Americans.
Durbin is apparently trying to send a different message to Muslim-Americans, as if he doesn't have other, more important things to do. These hearings will be the first held by the new subcommittee on the Constitution, civil rights, human rights and the law.
Durbin says he's called for the hearings because there's been an uptick in anti-Muslim sentiment in this country. He says it's important to renew the nation's "commitment to religious diversity and to protect the liberties guaranteed by our Bill of Rights." Right.
However, according to The Washington Times, the latest FBI data show that hate crimes against Muslims account for just 9.3% of religious hate crimes in the United States. More than 70% of religious hate crimes were against Jews.
Meanwhile, we have no federal budget, three wars and we're broke. Lovely.
Here’s my question to you: Should the Senate hold hearings on Muslims’ rights in the United States?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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