“I am convinced that we have one of the strictest, most accountable and fairest programmes,” says Kerry. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
“Years ago people thought the United States should not talk to China because of Mao Zedong,” Kerry told young Ethiopian students at an event hosted by the BBC at the University of Addis Ababa.
“People thought we shouldn’t talk to the Vietnamese during that war... but even as we fought them we had discussions in Paris about peace.”
Kerry also defended America’s use of drones to hunt down wanted terror leaders, saying the pilotless The drone programme has been one of the most controversial aspects of the US fight against al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Top leaders from both networks have been killed as a result of drone fire.
Yet the use of drones, mostly sent in covertly without the prior knowledge of other governments, has been sharply criticised particularly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the deaths of civilians caught in the crossfire has sparked a groundswell of anger.
But Kerry insisted: “I am convinced that we have one of the strictest, most accountable and fairest programmes.”
Each target was carefully monitored and “sometimes it takes a year to build the authority to know that you’re correct”, he said.
“We do not fire when we know there are children or collateral, we just don’t. We have absolutely not shot at high-level targets when we have seen that there are people there,” Kerry said.
The US ‘preference’ was to capture suspects wanted by US agencies, Kerry said, maintaining that Islamic militants did not use the same caution when they attacked American or Western targets. “I will tell you that the extremists who put bombs in those mosques never engage in the kind of clear discretion we have used in this programme,” he said.
But he also maintained that America was not engaged in a war against Islam, and acknowledged that there had been mistakes by the United States.
President Barack Obama said Thursday he had approved strict rules for when the United States can carry out drone strikes against terror suspects abroad, saying lethal force could be used when no other alternatives exist.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 27th, 2013.
COMMENTS (13)
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If the Americans had talked just a little instead of dropping bombs 12 years or so ago the world would be a much better and safer place to live in. It should be remembered that the Taliban Government, 12 years ago, had not done anything which justified the US invasion and ensuing mayhem which was inflicted upon them. As a result of American brutality I should imagine the Taliban will not be very cooperative. However, talking is always better than dropping bombs so my question to Mr. Kerry is, "when do you intend to stop dropping bombs'?l
@Theo:
The American have only one option on the table, and this ln militay terms is called the honourable surrender! The British Government have in the meantime have agreed to take six hundred Afghan interpretters with their families fo resience in Britain. The Americans have not yet approved any one who collaborated with them. Kerry soft approach is to follow Kissinger example. The guy is clever..
Rex Minor
When is John Kerry going to sign the surrender agreement with the Talibans, as Henry Kissinger did with North Vietnam? The North Vietnamese still did not keep the agreement and the world saw their dramatic march on Saigon! The Americans aim is simply to pull out withot reliving the vietnamese debacle. After over a decade of occupation and having experienced the denegaration and the degradation of their people and their culture including the droning of civiiians women and children in their mud dwellings, are the Talbans going to let the Americans and their collaborators get away with farewel concerts and abondon their assault on Kabul and the highways? Even the Talbans will face the difficulty in organising it.
Rex Minor
Kerry might as well wear bangles and colorful skirts and then bows and flowers in his overflowing hair... it will better suit his mindset and his policies (not to mention that of the administration he represents) ... but at least he will LOOK "pretty" ...!!!
@vikas: Once India & Pakistan make peace , things can totally change.
A joint India/Pakistan effort can keep the whole region very stable.
But global manipulators and exploiters can not allow this nightmare of theirs become a reality.
US has her own interests in the region. Nation building and modernisation of Pakistani society is not their concern. Pakistan better take care of herself by herself instead of looking upto US as the maai-baap.
Never send a democrat to fight a war!
"ADDIS ABABA:US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday defended the US move to try and open talks with the Taliban leadership, saying it was better to try to bring people to the table to resolve issues rather than try to fight it out." In other words can we say that US is confessing its the most worst ever defeat and failure in Afghanistan and if this is so when US itself is ready to start peace talks and negotiations with Taliban and tries to bring Taliban on table then why US interferes in Pakistan-Taliban peace talks and negotiations and creates hindrances????
He wouldn't be talking like this if the Taliban were in control of half his country...
IK has been saying this for years but unfortunately many people just don't get it in our country! We do what we are told by others.
pakistna should fight talibans you cant discuss with extremists who shoots young women who want to get educated.. india will help during the operation its not only USA or pakistna problem but the whole wolrd!!
beyond moronic
Aw shucks, why didn't they bring Osama bin Laden to the table? This is the kind of half-assed, woolly-headed messaging that give out confusing signals. You can bring reasonable enemies to the table. Taliban and al Qaeda are not reasonable. You can never have a constructive dialogue with them. They are nihilistic and destructive.