2 HOSTAGES KILLED BY U.S. DRONE
Breaking News
White House: 2 American al Qaeda also killed
The
White House announces that a U.S. counterterrorism operation targeting
an al Qaeda compound in January accidentally killed two innocent
hostages.
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U.S. drone strike accidentally killed 2 hostages
Source: CNN
Washington (CNN)President
Barack Obama announced Thursday that a U.S. counterterrorism operation
targeting an al Qaeda compound in January accidentally killed two
innocent hostages, including one American.
Multiple U.S. officials told CNN the hostages, Warren Weinstein, an American, and Italian national Giovanni Lo Porto, were killed by a U.S. military drone that targeted the al Qaeda compound.
"As
president and as commander in chief, I take full responsibility for all
our counterterrorism operations including the one that inadvertently
took the lives of Warren and Giovanni," Obama said Thursday morning in
the White House briefing room, where he apologized on behalf of the U.S.
government.
The White House also
disclosed Thursday that two Americans, both al Qaeda operatives, were
also killed in U.S. counterterrorism operations in the same region.
Al Qaeda leader Ahmed Farouq,
who was an American citizen and deputy emir of al Qaeda in the Indian
Subcontinent, was also killed in the operation that killed the two
innocent hostages.
Adam Gadahn,
another American in the senior ranks of al Qaeda, was also killed by
U.S. forces in the region, "likely in a separate" counterterrorism
operation, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in a statement
Thursday.
A
U.S. official told CNN that Obama did not specifically approve the
operations that killed the Americans, but that the strikes were within
the bounds of policy guidance.
Bad intelligence
American
officials at the time had "no reason to believe either hostage was
present" when the operation was launched on a compound in the
Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. U.S. officials also did not know
that Farouq or Gadahn were present at the targeted sites and "neither
was specifically targeted," Earnest said.
A senior administration official told CNN that U.S. intelligence had "near certainty" there were no hostages at the target site.
"Analysis
of all available information has led the Intelligence Community to
judge with high confidence that the operation accidentally killed both
hostages," Earnest said in a statement. "No words can fully express our
regret over this terrible tragedy."
Obama
directly apologized during his televised address to the families of the
two hostages who were killed in the drone strike and said he spoke
Wednesday with Weinstein's wife and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
"As
a husband and as a father, I cannot begin to imagine the anguish that
the Weinstein and Lo Porto families are enduring today. I realize that
there are no words that can ever equal their loss. I know that there is
nothing that I can ever say or do to ease their heartache," Obama said
Thursday.
Officials are conducting thorough independent investigation of the operation to ensure this type of incident is never repeated.
A
senior administration official told CNN that the review began in
January after the drone strike occurred, but said the review so far
suggests the operation "was by the book until we realized these people
(the hostages) were in there."
"The
concern is not about anything other than this is a colossal tragedy,"
the official said. "This doesn't seem to be raising any process flags
... But everyone is still going through this, and no one is resisting
that."
The death of an American hostage
Weinstein
was an American USAID contractor whose work focused on helping
Pakistani families, Obama said, and was captured by al Qaeda in August
2011. The other hostage, Giovanni Lo Porto, was an Italian aid worker
and had been held by al Qaeda since 2012.
Weinstein's
wife, Elaine Weinstein, said Thursday in a statement that she and her
family "are devastated by this news," but said Weinstein's captors are
ultimately responsible for his death.
"We
were so hopeful that those in the U.S. and Pakistani governments with
the power to take action and secure his release would have done
everything possible to do so and there are no words to do justice to the
disappointment and heartbreak we are going through," she said.
She
added that her family does not yet "fully understand all the facts
surrounding" her husband's death, but said the family looks forward to
the results of the investigation Obama said was underway.
The
U.S. never recovered Weinstein's body and did not conduct a DNA test to
determine his death, several sources told CNN, adding that multiple
intelligence sources confirmed their deaths based on circumstantial
evidence and a CIA assessment.
Renzi, the Italian prime minister, expressed his condolences on behalf of his country to the families of Weinstein and Lo Porto.
"I
express my deepest sorry for the death of an Italian, who has dedicated
his life to the service of others," Renzi said in a statement. "My
condolences also go the family of Warren Weinstein."
The decision to go public
The
information on the killings had been classified until Obama directed
officials to declassify the information and share it Thursday.
Obama
said he decided to release the information because "the Weinstein and
Lo Porto families deserve to know the truth" and because the U.S. "is a
democracy committed to openness in good times and bad."
Earnest
emphasized that the counterterrorism operation that killed the hostages
was "lawful and conducted consistent with our counterterrorism
policies" in a statement earlier Thursday and Obama said an "initial
assessment indicates that this operation was fully consistent with the
guidelines under which we conduct counterterrorism efforts in the
region."
But Obama still stood by U.S.
counterterrorism efforts in the region, which have been criticized for
their heavy reliance on drone strikes and resulting civilian casualties.
"Since
9/11, our counterterrorism efforts have prevented terrorist attacks and
saved innocent lives, both here in America and around the world. And
that determination to protect innocent life only makes the loss of these
two men especially painful for all of us," Obama said Thursday.
The
White House said the strike occurred in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border
region, a haven for the Taliban and al Qaeda, but did not specify in
which country the strike occurred.
Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday declined to comment on the news of the strikes.
Capitol Hill reacts
Elaine
Weinstein, who resides in Maryland, specifically thanked their
senators, Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, and congressman, Rep. John
Delaney, for "their relentless efforts to free my husband."
Cardin,
Mikulski Delaney expressed their sorrow at Weinstein's death in
statements Thursday morning and recalled their efforts to try and secure
their constituent's release.
"I have
tracked Warren Weinstein's status since he was first taken hostage in
2011. The United States government, including members of my staff,
worked tirelessly to bring him home safely," said Cardin, who recently
became the top Democrat on the foreign relations committee.
He
added that he received a "preliminary briefing" from CIA Director John
Brennan and said he requested "a full account of the events that led to"
the hostages' deaths.
Delaney called
Weinstein's killing "a sobering national security and government
failure" and said he was "saddened, disappointed and outraged that our
government was not able to bring Warren home."
"The
loss of Warren is devastating, a tragic event that we must never
forget," Delaney said. "As Warren's representative, I feel like his
country failed him in his greatest time of need. I'm determined to
ensure that Warren's story is not forgotten, that we get to the bottom
of why Warren wasn't found and how he was killed."
He
also called for a broader effort to reassess the U.S. government's
policies and procedures for securing the release of American hostages
held abroad and called for the need for a top U.S. official focused
specifically on the location and release of American hostages — "someone
who wakes up every morning" focused on freeing hostages.
"A
much broader analysis needs to be launched and we're going to push it
really hard to make sure that we're really pursuing this really hard as a
top priority for the united states of America," he said on CNN.
Mikulski
in a statement said she has "many questions about how this tragedy
occurred" and said she was "truly heartbroken" to learn the news of
Weinstein's death.
"Dr. Weinstein
dedicated his life to improving the conditions of others all around the
world and his legacy is truly immeasurable. His humanitarian service,
and that of Mr. Lo Porto, stands in stark and shining contrast to the
depravity of their captors," Mikulski said.
House
Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi also shared their
condolences Thursday and lauded Obama's decision to launch an
independent investigation into the drone strike that killed the
hostages.
"As President Obama
indicated, this is not a time for excuses," Boehner said at a news
conference. "We need all the facts for the families, and so that we can
make sure that nothing like this ever happens again in our efforts to
keep Americans safe."
Pelosi said she was "so saddened by the deaths of the two hostages" and called Obama's remarks on the deaths "very moving."
"He
took full responsibility as commander in chief; apologized to the
family for the tragedy. And I look forward to what he called for, the
declassification of all the information related to the strike, so that
the families will know the facts and so will the public," Pelosi said
Thursday morning.
Lawmakers on the
House and Senate intelligence committees said they would be
investigating the operation that killed the two hostages.
Vice
chairwoman of the Senate committee Dianne Feinstein said the committee
"has already been reviewing the specific January operation that led to
these deaths" and said she will now review that operation "in greater
detail."
And Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking member of the House committee, said his committee would look into the operation.
"In
the weeks ahead, we will be examining this operation to make sure that
the high standards that have been set were, in fact, met, and whether
there are any other steps that can be taken to further reduce the risk
of loss of innocent life," Schiff said in a statement.
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