U.S. officials have assured the American people that the 34 killed at a funeral in Afghanistan last week were all terrorists. At the same time, CIA Director John Brennan admitted that our foreign policy can spur terrorism. Should we expect more blowback from U.S. drone strikes?
“Our solution was that our officials that we control in Afghanistan along with our government decided that all 34 at the funeral were terrorists and therefore this was an acceptable practice,” three-time presidential candidate and former Texas Rep. Ron Paul said in the latest episode of his Liberty Report.
Paul cited comments from Air Force Lt. Gen. John Hesterman that the war against the Islamic State (ISIS) is very effective. Lieutenant Hesterman said U.S. pilots are killing more than 1,000 terrorists per month and that the airstrikes are so effective that they don’t kill civilians, and government troops don’t get killed.
“I don’t know what newspapers he reads or reports he reads, but I understand ISIS is not exactly a perfect situation over there,” Paul said. “. . . I don’t know about you, but I have trouble buying into this.”
Liberty Report co-host Daniel McAdams compared Lieutenant Hesterman’s comments about killing 1,000 terrorists each month to the U.S. measuring its success during the Vietnam War by how many Vietcong were killed. “Meanwhile, we were losing the war,” McAdams said.
In drone strikes like the one that hit the funeral in Afghanistan, McAdams claimed that U.S. officials simply redefine who is a terrorist and who isn’t based on the situation.
“You can almost imagine by the terms of our own NDAA that anyone attending a funeral of a Taliban person would be supporting, aiding and abetting,” McAdams said. “So even if it was a kid . . . but what the people there on the ground claim is that at least 20 people were civilians who were killed. And I don’t know, maybe people on the ground would have an incentive to lie, but they certainly would seem to know better.”
Paul questioned whether the killing is a success or inviting more blowback, citing comments from Brennan that terrorists are essentially anyone who resists our American occupation of other countries.
“That makes it pretty convenient then,” McAdams replied. “I remember the Obama administration redefining a terrorist was as any male of military fighting age. So that would relieve them of the actual burden of proving that they were all actual terrorists.”
During an interview on Face The Nation, Brennan said, “I think the president has tried to make sure that we’re able to push the envelop when we can protect this country. But we have to recognize that sometimes our engagement and direct involvement will stimulate and spur additional threats to our national security interest.”
Paul said the quote is very telling of the problems with U.S. foreign policy. “Our intervention hurts our national security because we invite retaliation and blowback,” he said.
Watch the full episode above and check out more episodes of the Ron Paul Liberty Report here at Truth In Media.
In case you missed Ben Swann’s Truth In Media episode on ISIS watch it below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6kdi1UXxhY