U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statem
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statemReuters

Pakistan's foreign minister on Friday thanked Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for criticizing the anti-Islam film that has been widely accused of sparking the protests that have spread throughout the Muslim world.

While the widely accepted notion that the amateur video somehow justifies the bloody attacks remains farcical, America is, nonetheless, spending $70,000 in TV ads in Pakistan featuring President Obama and Clinton distancing the government from the provocative 14-minute trailer.

“Allow me to begin from where you began, Madam Secretary, and to say that we appreciate the very strong condemnation ... of this blasphemous video, which has certainly stroked the sensitivities of the Muslims in the wrong way,” Hina Rabbani Khar, who is on her first visit to the United States, said while standing alongside Clinton at the State Department. 

“Your condemnation has given a strong message that the United States government not only condemns it but has absolutely no support to such blasphemous videos or content anywhere. I think that is an important message, and that message should go a long way in ending the violence on many streets in the world.”

Khar failed to mention that protesters have been using the video as an excuse to encourage violence, even after Clinton had opened the door for such comments just moments earler.

“We found the video that’s at the core of this series of events offensive, disgusting, reprehensible,” Clinton said. “But that does not provide justification for violence, and therefore it is important for responsible leaders, indeed responsible people everywhere, to stand up and speak out against violence and particularly against those who would exploit this difficult moment to advance their own extremist ideologies.”