NATO to Libyan civilians: Sorry, sort of

You can add another example of post-modern debasement of language (same-sex marriage, air-strikes don't qualify as hostilities, we have to pass the bill to find out what's in it).

NATO originally denied bombing civilian targets in Libya, but subsequently (a la Anthony Weiner) admitted it and issued an apology.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/57335.html

Reading between the lines, the apology means "in our mission to protect the civilian population of Libya, it is unavoidable that we will occasionally kill civilians, and that's a risk we are willing to take."