February 10, 2004
With Humility, We Apologize To the Nations of the World, Citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Members of the Islamic Faith:
We believe in the power of admitting error, or of error made on our behalf, as a first step toward restoration of relationship.
As citizens of the United States of America, we have witnessed the actions of our government since the fateful terrorist attack against our country on September 11, 2001. And we are dismayed. On that terrible day, hate and revenge reigned. Those who committed those destructive and violent acts of terrorism deserve condemnation. Following that day, the sympathy of the world was with our nation, and it was deeply appreciated.
We would have hoped that our government would have taken a high moral road following those attacks and called the nations of the world to closer collaboration. It would have been a call away from preemptive attacks, away from waging war, and away from revenge. It would have called for greater economic, political and diplomatic collaboration. It would have strengthened security preparedness. It would have called for greater unity among the world’s three great monotheistic faiths. It would have called for a collaborative, focused effort by the community of nations to identify, arrest, dismantle and marginalize terrorist organizations, not governments. It would have caused us to stand with and respect our friends.
Instead, our nation has acted unilaterally, and the so-called “partner-nations” have acquiesced--mostly by intimidation or by reward, not out of their sense of what is right. Most of these “partner-nations” have alienated their own citizens by their cooperation. We have engaged in preemptive attack against other nations. The result has been the strengthening of the terrorist cause offering them easy targets in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as other places such as Indonesia and Turkey.
Instead of mobilizing decency and good will, we have alienated many nations and peoples of the world. Because of US American military and economic might, we have acted more like a bully rather than use our strength for the good of all. We have acted like an empire rather than a leader among sovereign nations.
We deeply regret the loss of life among our American soldiers. We likewise regret the loss of life among other soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq. We have found ourselves imposing western-style democracy on nations with little interest or tradition for this approach to governance. We have not been liberators but occupiers.
We regret that we have not been told the truth by our own government. Nearly all the evidence and justification for the invasion of Iraq have been misleading or inaccurate.
Within our country, we have found that our own laws and freedoms have been compromised and persons of Arab descent and persons of Islamic faith have been unfairly targeted. This falls beneath the standards we expect of our government.
Using color-coded alerts, our leaders have tried to change our national psyche from security to fear. We do not want to participate in this culture of fear.
The United States of America was founded on principles that have been abrogated. Because of this, we reach out to the nations and citizens of the world and express our profound regret and sincere apology.
Dr. Stephen Jones, commentary