A rare honest moment, he'll quickly get his mind right
Posted on 06/08/2014 7:15:32 AM PDT by maggief
Secretary of State John Kerry acknowledged on Sunday the possibility that the five Guantanamo Bay detainees released in a prisoner swap for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl could return to terrorism.
"I'm not telling you that they don't have some ability at some time to get back involved, but they also have an ability to get killed if they do that," he said in an interview that aired on CNN's "State of the Union." "And I don't think anybody should doubt the capacity of Americans to protect Americans," Kerry added.
The swap for five Taliban detainees for Bergdahl has sparked fierce controversy and criticism from Republicans, who have expressed anger at the 28-year-old soldier's suspected desertion and the potential that the freed detainees could return to combat.
One of those detainees has said he plans to return to fighting against the U.S.
But Kerry said that the U.S. is monitoring the released Taliban fighters, and that "they're not the only ones keeping an eye on them." And he emphasized that the U.S. is capable of dealing with the prisoners if they do return to terrorism, declaring "these guys pick a fight with us…at enormous risk."
Ultimately, Kerry defended the choice in much the same way President Obama has, as one central to the core values of the military and the U.S.
"What I know today is what the president of the United States knows, that it would have been offensive and incomprehensible to consciously leave an American behind, no matter what, to leave an American behind in the hands of people who would torture him, cut of his head, do any number of things," he said. "And we would consciously choose to do that? That's the other side of this equation. I don't think anybody would think that's an appropriate thing to do."
CNN Challenges Kerry: ‘Sounds Like You’re Not Sure’ About Bergdahl
(snip)
Labott pressed Kerry on reports that the five released detainees will now be able to freely roam around Qatar, without specific surveillance measures being taken. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being the most confident,” she asked, “how confident are you that they’ll be able to keep a close eye on these guys?”
“They’re not the only ones keeping an eye on them,” the secretary replied.
“The U.S. is going to be monitoring them?” Labott pushed back.
“I’m telling you they aren’t the only ones keeping an eye on them,” Kerry said. “We have confidence in those requirements. If they’re violated, then we have ability to be able to do things.”
Labott didn’t let him off the hook there, asking for more specifics.
“I don’t think anybody should doubt the capacity of the United States of America to protect Americans,” Kerry vaguely responded. When Labott asked him point-blank whether that means the U.S. would go in and kill those released prisoners, he simply repeated his answer.
Labott then asked about reports that Bergdahl may have gone AWOL while in Afghanistan, and whether he “served with honor and distinction”?
“There’s plenty of time for people to sort through what happened, what didn’t happen,” the secretary responded. “I don’t know all the facts.”
“Sounds like you’re not sure he served with honor and distinction,” Labott challenged back.
(snip - video at link)
Chris Stevens, Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty, and Sean Smith were unavailable for comment.
For Kerry, at least the released detainees would be returning to fight on the same side.
A rare honest moment, he'll quickly get his mind right
“Detainees could return to fight”
Duh,ya think..
Best line of the day!
"... it would have been offensive and incomprehensible to consciously leave an American behind, no matter what, to leave an American behind in the hands of people who would torture him, cut of his head, do any number of things."
Wonderful, Kerry, “they can be killed.” And so can’t our boys having to fight them - again - and do that killing. THEIR BLOOD WILL BE ON YOUR HANDS. TRAITOR!!! THE WHOLE LOT OF YOU.
John F'n Kerry, Rocket Scientist
Yeah. Those terrorists might go all Genghis Khan on us.
feh...
If one thinks like Obama and Kerry, then why not release all of the al Qaeda and Taliban held by the US?
That’s the plan ...
I’m thinking the same thing.
I prefer to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt for his intentions and put the blame where it belongs....on those three.
The Democrats hitched their wagon to Obama and he has pulled them off a cliff.
EVERY terrorist attack from now on belongs to the Democrat Party.
What?
No. ...
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