Flag insult: US envoy apologizes to Qatar

Qatar summoned the US ambassador on Thursday, requesting she explain an online video showing two American soldiers laughing in front of the Arab country’s purple-and-white flag. 
The move prompted a quick apology, a reflection of the importance the small nation has in hosting a major US military base.
Ambassador Dana Shell Smith wrote to a series of users on Twitter that she “apologized to the government of Qatar” and asked the US military to investigate the video. The US Embassy in Doha confirmed the tweets sent on the ambassador’s account were genuine, but declined to immediately discuss the video.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry issued its own terse set of tweets over the video, saying Smith “was asked for an explanation of the contents of that video.” It didn’t elaborate and Qatari officials did not respond to a request for comment, though insulting the Qatari flag is a criminal offense that carries a prison sentence of up to three years and a $55,000 fine.
At issue was a 30-second online clip showing two US soldiers in front of both a US and a Qatari flag. The location and the time the video was shot is unclear, though it appeared to be at a US facility, as the Great Seal of the United States also was behind them on the wall.
The video shows a male and female soldier in fatigues standing in front of US and Qatari flags.
The pair are shown joking and laughing, saying they are being filmed at an "unknown dislocation".
The male soldier then says they are "in a place called ummm", and points to the Qatari flag. 
The woman soldier repeats the word "ummm".
It is not clear when or where the video was filmed.
“We have to be serious,” the female soldier next to him says. A male voice from behind the camera answers: “This is as serious as it gets.”
Qatar is home to the vast Al-Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters for US Central Command and aircraft involved in the campaign of airstrikes targeting Islamic State militants in both Syria and Iraq.

Source: Arab News