Tribune Media Services, which distributed a controversial column by Stanford University professor Joel Brinkley, in which he asserts Vietnam's "aggressive tendencies" are tied to its penchant for eating meat -- particularly rats, birds and dogs, has issued an apology, saying the column did not meet its journalistic standards. The column, which remains online, triggered backlash from Vietnamese and others around the world.

Here is the company's statement:

"Editor's note: Tribune Media Services, which distributed this article, issued a follow-up statement on Friday, February 1:


"TMS has a rigorous editing process for its content, and in the case of Brinkley's column that moved Jan. 29, all the required steps did not occur. We regret that this happened, and we will be vigilant in ensuring that our editing process works in the future.''