Newt Gingrich is apparently no fan of the United States’ relationship with Afghanistan. He was among the earliest and loudest critics of President Obama’s apology to Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the U.S. burning of Qurans at Bargram air base, calling the apology an “outrage.”
On Monday, the former House Speaker went a step further. At a business luncheon in Nashville, Gingrich said it is impossible to “fix” Afghanistan.
“This is a real problem,” Newt continued, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “And there are some problems where you have to say, ‘You know, you are going to have to figure out how to live your own miserable life’ … because you clearly don’t want to learn from me how to be unmiserable. And that is what you are going to see happen.”
Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney also criticized the president’s apology. Romney on Fox News Sunday said the apology sticks in the throat of the American people. “We’ve made an enormous contribution to help the people there achieve freedom, and for us to be apologizing at a time like this is something which is very difficult for the American people to countenance,” he said.
Santorum said the apology “shows weakness.”
The Quran burnings have sparked days of protests in Afghanistan. More than 30 people have been killed — including four Americans — and more than 200 people have been wounded, Reuters reports.
David Taintor
David Taintor is TPM’s News Editor. He contributes to TPM’s Livewire coverage, among other areas. David is from Chanhassen, Minnesota, where, yes, it gets very cold. Reach him at taintor [at] talkingpointsmemo.com
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