Meanwhile a senior U.S. diplomat publicly accused the United States of displaying arrogance and stupidity in Iraq. The State Department official Alberto Fernandez made the comment during an interview conducted in Arabic on Al Jazeera.

• Alberto Fernandez: “We tried to do our best (in Iraq) but I think there is much room for criticism because, undoubtedly, there was arrogance and there was stupidity from the United States in Iraq.”

The State Department initially claimed Fernandez’s comments were mistranslated. Later Fernandez issued a written apology through the State Department press office. He wrote “I seriously misspoke by using the phrase 'there has been arrogance and stupidity' by the U.S. in Iraq. This represents neither my views nor those of the State Department. I apologize.”