Tony Bennett has made a public apology following his recent comments on 9/11 where he implied that America had "caused" the attacks. 

The crooner appeared on Howard Stern's radio show on Monday, September 19 and while openly discussing the war on terror, he posed the question "are we the terrorists or are they the terrorists?"

He continued, "they flew the plane in, but we caused it. Because we were bombing them and they told us to stop. They said what are you doing? And they came on stronger. And come on -- we're going to have to retaliate. No, no, no. They said give them four times as much."

The outrage that ensued forced Bennett to speak up about his remarks and in a post on his official Facebook page, he apologised:

"I am so grateful to be an American and as a World War II veteran, I was proud to fight to protect our values, which have made America the greatest country on the planet. There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country."

"My life experiences - ranging from the Battle of the Bulge to marching with Martin Luther King - made me a life-long humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior."

"I am sorry if my statements suggested anything other than an expression of my love for my country, my hope for humanity and my desire for peace throughout the world."

Bennett's new album 'Duets ll', which is currently at No.5 on the UK albums chart, is available now and you can watch the music video for his collaboration with Amy Winehouse on 'Body and Soul' here: