Bush Apologizes for Koran Target Practice

But Iraq is calling for a trial for shoot-'em-up soldier
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted May 21, 2008 4:30 AM CDT
Bush Apologizes for Koran Target Practice
US Army soldiers from the 3rd Special Troops Battalion in combat in Baghdad. The discovery that a US sniper used a Koran for target practice has triggered an uproar in Washington and Iraq.   (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

President Bush yesterday called Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki to personally apologize for the use of a Koran in target practice by a US military sniper. Maliki told Bush the incident was humiliating for Muslims and indicated the apology may not be enough, Reuters reports. The soldier who shot up the holy book has been sent back to the US, and he and his commander apologized for the incident last week.

"We need to try this soldier since he committed a grievous crime," said an Iraqi government spokesman. "This is what the Iraqi government wants. It is not satisfied with just an apology." (More George W. Bush stories.)

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