Clinton: GOP should apologize for criticizing Obama's apology

The accidental burning of Qurans by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan last week sparked deadly protests from offended Muslims.  In an attempt to quell the tide of anger, President Obama apologized to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the "unintentionally mishandled" books -- a move that has been widely criticized, especially by the president's Republican political opponents.  Rick Santorum slammed Obama's apology as a sign of "weakness."  Struggling 2012 contender Newt Gingrich called Obama's actions "astonishing" and Mitt Romney said the apology "sticks in Americans' throat."

Now, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is fighting back, not only defending President Obama's apology, but also claiming that the GOP's condemnation of the apology threatens to further "inflame" the situation.

“I find it somewhat troubling that our politics would inflame such a dangerous situation in Afghanistan,” Clinton told CNN on Monday.

Does Clinton honestly think that it's the GOP's condemnation of the apology that has left two U.S. military officers dead in the Afghan capital of Kabul and forced diplomatic personnel to lock down the U.S. embassy?  I blame the GOP for these incidents as much as I do President Obama -- neither is to blame for the atrocious reaction of angered Muslims.  And if they are looking for someone to be mad at, why not start with the radical detainees in U.S. custody who were reportedly defiling the holy books with violent rhetoric and murderous messages?

It seems to me that Clinton should be less concerned about the GOP's reaction to the president's apology and more concerned with how the Afghan people have retaliated.  Instead of apologizing for our inadvertent mistake, how about demanding an apology for their reaction?