(NewsCore) - President Barack Obama faced fierce criticism from Republicans Thursday after apologizing for the burning of Korans at a US military base in Afghanistan, an incident that sparked deadly protests and led to the deaths of two American soldiers.
"It is an outrage that President Obama is the one apologizing to Afghan President Karzai on the same day two American troops were murdered and four others injured by an Afghan soldier," Newt Gingrich said in a statement.
"It is Hamid Karzai who owes the American people an apology, not the other way around," the Republican presidential hopeful added.
"This destructive double standard whereby the United States and its democratic allies refuse to hold accountable leaders who tolerate systematic violence and oppression in their borders must come to an end."
Sarah Palin also chimed in, expressing similar sentiments in a tweet. "Obama apologizes for inadvertent Koran burning; now the US trained & protected Afghan Army can apologize for killing our soldiers yesterday," the former Alaska governor wrote.
An Afghan soldier reportedly opened fire on a US base in the eastern Nangarhar Province Thursday, killing two American troops hours after the Taliban called on Afghans to kill Western forces in response to the Koran-burning.
On Monday, coalition forces at Bagram Air Field brought a truckload of Islamic holy books from a detention facility to an incinerator after the detainees allegedly were using the texts to pass secrets and what were described as "extremist" messages to one another.
Afghans stepped in to rescue the books, though some were already burned. The incident, viewed as an affront to Muslims, sparked widespread protests in which at least 10 Afghans were reportedly killed in the past three days.
US ambassador to Kabul, Ryan Crocker, delivered a letter from the president to Karzai Thursday that included an apology for the incident.
"I assure you that we will take appropriate steps to avoid any recurrence, to include holding accountable those responsible," President Obama wrote in the letter, according to Karzai's office.
Responding to criticism over the apology, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters Thursday sending that message to Karzai was "absolutely the right thing to do."
"It is wholly appropriate, given the sensitivities to this issue -- the understandable sensitivities," Carney said, while emphasizing that Obama's "primary concern as Commander-in-Chief is the safety of American men and women in Afghanistan, of our military and civilian personnel there."
He said the letter touched on "a variety of issues related to our bilateral engagement" and characterized it as part of a routine follow-up after a phone conversation Obama had with Karzai recently.
Carney also noted that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey have conveyed apologies on behalf of the US for the incident.
