US offers no apology, splits blame for strike

 

The US military report released on Thursday concluded that US forces acted in self defence and with appropriate force after being fired upon when they attacked.

 

Islamabad has demanded an apology for the incident, which led to a closure of border crossings used to bring supplies to NATO troops in Afghanistan and the expulsion of US troops from a base in southern Pakistan used for drone attacks.

 

Air Force Brig Gen Stephen Clark, who led the US probe, told reporters that there were two key elements that contributed to the incident.

 

First, a mistake by a US officer that led to Pakistani officials being given the wrong location for the US attack, and second the "overarching lack of trust" between the two sides that made American commanders reluctant to share precise locations of their troops with Pakistani officers.

 

Asked if the US would offer an apology to Pakistan after the Pentagon report, State Department spokesman Mark Toner said: "I would just say – and we have said – we\\\’ve expressed our deep regret."

 

Toner declined to "apologise" and in response to persistent questioning kept repeating "I think there\\\’s a shared responsibility in this incident, and we\\\’ve said very clearly that we accept responsibility for the mistakes that we made."

 

On the other hand, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said that, in keeping with our normal practices in Afghanistan, the United States is willing to offer solatia payments as a sign of our regret for the loss of life.

 

"This is not necessarily a legal form of compensation, but it is a sign of regret for the loss of life," he added.