Regret the Error

In “The World According To John McCain” (April 7), NEWSWEEK described a meeting at the 2006 Munich security conference in which Sen. John McCain allegedly erupted at the German foreign minister, whom McCain thought was being insufficiently tough on the brutal regime in Belarus. There are, however, conflicting versions of the episode, and we should have made that clear. Other people who were in the room at the time dispute the account, and several of those who were there, including those who recall a brief flare-up of anger from McCain (which the senator denies), believed the incident was minor, based on a misunderstanding caused by a translation problem, and was quickly cleared up. Senator McCain should have been given an opportunity to give his version of events in the original story, and we regret that the piece did not note the different recollections of the moment, including the denials that there was any display of anger. Link