Say you're working for GlobalMalgaMegaCorp, and you're in a business meeting with a client, and you decide you don't feel like being employed anymore. You pour your coffee over the client's head, call him a douchebag, and leave the office.

Was your boss responsible for your actions?

Personally? No. But as the top representative for the company, yes. It's his job to smooth things over with the client. Say he's sorry for what happened. Say he'll do his best to ensure it won't ever happen again. Fire your ass. Talk to the rest of the employees.

I think you're splitting hairs here. Whether or not he personally sanctioned what happened is beside the point. Bush, for better or worse, represents America. American troops did some very bad things. The. Buck. Stops. With. Him.

When the Bay of Pigs blew up in Kennedy's face, it was largely because of faulty information supplied by the CIA. But he took public responsibility for what happened because it's part of the job.