U.S.: Inverted Philippine Flag Was 'Honest Mistake'

On Sunday, in a meeting between President Barack Obama and President Benigno Aquino III, the Philippine flag was displayed improperly and the United States government has since apologized saying that it was an honest mistake. The meeting was set to discuss and bolster the economic ties between the United States and the Philippine's and also discuss east Asian territorial concerns. A picture of the two presidents with the inverted flag appeared on the governments website with no caption or mention of the error. The inverted flag could be seen as a sign of disrespect or misunderstanding on the part of the United States and is a sad reality that even the United States government is not impervious to mistakes. Mistakes like this could lead to problems though. The United States wants to make more friends, but in order to do so in the anarchic international system, it is important that the U.S. respects other countries flags and traditions. There would be a large outcry if another country (in particular an uneasy ally of the United States) if the U.S. flag was improperly flown and taken as a disgrace, but it appears as that in this case things will be smoothed out quickly. Hopefully, nothing will bubble out of this mistake, but it is a mistake that cannot happen again for the sake of the United States and the world as a whole. Much like what we have discussed in class the past few weeks, the strong do what they will and the weak accept what they may. I mention this because the Philippine's accept the mistake whereas another power may not have done so. The Philippine's is not necessarily this weak, but rather smart enough to know that they do not want to come in to conflict with the United States. In the end, I hope to never hear of this again! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/27/us-inverted-philippine-fl_n_739834.html

By: Kyle Coia