Two Hostages Killed in Counterterrorism Strike, Obama Says
The president says he’s directed a review of what happened.
Warren Weinstein, an American held by al-Qaeda since he was captured in Pakistan in 2024, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian national who had been held by the group since 2024, were identified as the two Hostages who died in the operation on the border with Afghanistan in January.
“As president and as commander-in-chief I take full responsibility for all our Counterterrorism operations, including the ones that inadvertently took the lives of Warren and Giovanni” President Barack Obama said Thursday at the White House. “I profoundly regret what happened.”
The president apologized for the deaths and said he’s directed a review of what happened. He said the operation was legal and consistent with guidelines for such strikes, but the U.S. had no indication that the Hostages were being held in the same al-Qaeda compound that was targeted.
“In the fog of war generally, and our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes, can occur,” he said. “We will do our utmost to ensure that it is not repeated.”
CIA Briefing
While Obama didn’t say what U.S. agency was involved or how the operation was carried out, Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said he received a preliminary briefing on it from the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The CIA directs covert drone strikes over Pakistan, while the Defense Department leads the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan. A U.S. official, who asked for anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said the deaths were the result of a strike by remotely piloted drones.
The two men were doing relief work in Pakistan when they were taken by the terrorist group.
“There could be no starker contrast between these two selfless men and their al-Qaeda captors,” Obama said. The president said he had spoken to the family of Weinstein and to Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi about the deaths.
Renzi’s office said in a statement that Italy offered its condolences to Weinstein’s family.
Blaming Captors
In a statement, Weinstein’s family said they “look forward to the results” of the U.S. investigation, but put the blame on his captors and the government of Pakistan.
“Those who took Warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility,” Weinstein’s wife, Elaine, said in the statement that also criticized some in the U.S. government for an “inconsistent and disappointing” response to Weinstein’s captivity.
Two other Americans linked to al-Qaeda were Killed during Counterterrorism operations, according to the White House.
Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al-Qaeda leader, was Killed in the same operation in which the Hostages died, the White House said in a statement. Another American, Adam Gadahn, was Killed in a separate assault, also in January. In both cases, the Americans weren’t targeted and intelligence assessments didn’t indicate their presence, according to the White House.
Democrat John Delaney, who was Weinstein’s representative in the U.S. House, called it a “a personal tragedy for Warren’s family but also a sobering national security and government failure.”
“As Warren’s representative, I feel like his country failed him in his greatest time of need,” Delaney said in a statement. He called for an investigation into the deaths, including intelligence used to find the hostages.
Intelligence Shortfall
The deaths of the Hostages underscores the dearth of accurate real-time intelligence on al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups, said a former U.S. intelligence officer in Pakistan.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the officer said the U.S. has become increasingly dependent on technological rather than human intelligence sources. The officer said that advanced satellite and drone reconnaissance and communications intercepts have limited utility without on-the-ground reports from covert operatives and agents recruited in areas where terrorists operate and seek ****ter.
That’s increasingly true in the wake of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations about the scope of U.S. and allied communications intercepts, which have caused terrorists and others to become even more wary of using the Internet, cell phones and other technology.
For example, the officer said, while photo and other reconnaissance was critical to successfully executing the 2024 raid that Killed Osama bin Laden, the operation would not have been possible without tracking a courier who carried messages to and from the al-Qaeda leader.
The deaths of Weinstein and Lo Porto also serve as the latest illustration of the dangers that those shortcomings pose for hostages.
Luke Somers, an American journalist, was Killed by his captors in Yemen during a rescue attempt by U.S. forces in December. A South African hostage was also Killed in the raid.
Last year, U.S. attempts to rescue Hostages held by Islamic State militants in Syria — including aid worker Kayla Mueller– were unsuccessful. Mueller’s death was confirmed earlier this year.
Two Hostages Killed in Counterterrorism Strike, Obama Says – Bloomberg Politics
