US army apologises to Shiite clerics over clash

[Rose Siding]

The US army apologised to Shiite Muslim clerics in Baghdad over a clash which left an Iraqi dead.

It has now promised to punish the soldiers responsible, according to a letter obtained by AFP.

"We deeply regret what happened today (Wednesday)," a letter signed by Christopher Hoffman of the 2nd Armoured Cavalry Regiment said, the copy of which was provided by a Shiite cleric.

US troops fired into a crowd of thousands of demonstrators who took to the streets on Wednesday local time after an American helicopter apparently tried to remove a black religious flag from a communications tower.

snip>

However Sheikh Qais Al-Kazali, who gave the letter to AFP and said he was deputy secretary to firebrand anti-occupation Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, said the offer was being rejected.

"We want a public apology and legal compensation for the victims," he said, adding that the apology must be published in English and Arabic-language newspapers here.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s924771.htm

[MaineDem]

1. Thank you, foreign press

What would we ever do without you!

[lumpy]

2. Time to send the Vietnam- pilot- war-hero- uniter,

Geo.W.Bush over there to Iraq. His mesmorizing personality that has influenced so many Americans should do the trick in uniting the Iraqi people to the idea of Bush-freedom.