Diplomat: Sorry for remark on U.S. policy

0 Comments | USA TODAY, October, 2006

*A senior U.S. diplomat apologized Sunday for saying U.S. policy in Iraq displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity" in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV. Alberto Fernandez, director of public diplomacy in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, issued a written statement through the State Department press office.

"I realized that I seriously misspoke by using the phrase 'there has been arrogance and stupidity' by the U.S. in Iraq," said Fernandez. "This represents neither my views nor those of the State Department," he added. *Gunmen ambushed a convoy of buses carrying police recruits near Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 15 and wounding 25 others. *A series of bombs ripped through a Baghdad market and bakery packed with holiday shoppers, killing at least nine...