Obama Offers Zardari Condolences Over Pakistan Airstrike, Says Attack Not Deliberate

By National Journal Staff

Updated: December 5, 2011 | 6:24 a.m.
December 4, 2011 | 12:47 p.m.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a media conference at an EU-US summit in Lisbon on Saturday Nov. 20, 2010. EU and US leaders will look at ways in which they can work together on a growing range of security issues that affect citizens on both sides of the Atlantic, such as cyber attacks and cyber crime, as well as violent extremism and terrorism. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

The attack that killed two dozen Pakistani soldiers late last month was not deliberately carried out, President Obama said Sunday in a phone call to his counterpart President Asif Ali Zardari.

According to the White House, Obama also offered his condolences on the loss of life after the aerial attack killed 24 soldiers on Pakistan's border with Afganistan.

"The two Presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the U.S.-Pakistan bilateral relationship, which is critical to the security of both nations, and they agreed to stay in close touch," the White House said in a statement Sunday.

The NATO airstrike enervated already-tense U.S.-Pakistan relations, with Pakistan closing supply routes into Afghanistan and ordering the U.S. to close launching sites it uses for drone strikes.

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