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| Obama Apologizes for Bombing of Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan | Obama Apologizes for Bombing of Doctors Without Borders Hospital in Afghanistan |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| WASHINGTON — President Obama called the chief of Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday to apologize for the bombing of a hospital in Afghanistan that killed doctors and patients, a White House spokesman said Wednesday. | WASHINGTON — President Obama called the chief of Doctors Without Borders on Wednesday to apologize for the bombing of a hospital in Afghanistan that killed doctors and patients, a White House spokesman said Wednesday. |
| “When the United States makes a mistake, we own up to it, we apologize,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters. | “When the United States makes a mistake, we own up to it, we apologize,” Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, told reporters. |
| Mr. Earnest had declined on Tuesday to apologize to the doctors group despite calling the strike in Kunduz a terrible tragedy, saying the administration was not prepared to make further comments while three separate investigations were continuing. | Mr. Earnest had declined on Tuesday to apologize to the doctors group despite calling the strike in Kunduz a terrible tragedy, saying the administration was not prepared to make further comments while three separate investigations were continuing. |
| But on Wednesday, Mr. Earnest said the president had decided to issue the formal apology in the wake of testimony from the top general in Afghanistan before a congressional committee. | But on Wednesday, Mr. Earnest said the president had decided to issue the formal apology in the wake of testimony from the top general in Afghanistan before a congressional committee. |
| Mr. Earnest said that by Wednesday morning, when the president made the call from the Oval Office to Dr. Joanne Liu, Mr. Obama had concluded “that he had learned enough about this matter to conclude that it was appropriate for him to offer an apology.” | Mr. Earnest said that by Wednesday morning, when the president made the call from the Oval Office to Dr. Joanne Liu, Mr. Obama had concluded “that he had learned enough about this matter to conclude that it was appropriate for him to offer an apology.” |
| In addition to the apology, White House officials said Mr. Obama had promised a “transparent, thorough and objective accounting” of the incident, and told Dr. Liu that he would make any changes necessary to ensure that such incidents were less likely in the future. | |
| That may not be enough for Doctors Without Borders, which has pressed for an independent investigation into the attack on the hospital. Currently, there are three investigations — one by the Defense Department, one by NATO and another by a joint United States-Afghan group. | That may not be enough for Doctors Without Borders, which has pressed for an independent investigation into the attack on the hospital. Currently, there are three investigations — one by the Defense Department, one by NATO and another by a joint United States-Afghan group. |
| Mr. Earnest said the president had confidence in the existing investigations and declined to say whether the United States would agree with calls for an independent investigation. | Mr. Earnest said the president had confidence in the existing investigations and declined to say whether the United States would agree with calls for an independent investigation. |
| “The president has made quite clear that, over the course of these three investigations, particularly the one that’s being conducted by the Department of Defense, that it will be transparent, it will be thorough, and it will be objective, and it will provide the full accounting that the president has insisted on from the beginning,” Mr. Earnest said. | “The president has made quite clear that, over the course of these three investigations, particularly the one that’s being conducted by the Department of Defense, that it will be transparent, it will be thorough, and it will be objective, and it will provide the full accounting that the president has insisted on from the beginning,” Mr. Earnest said. |