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President Barack Obama is taking full responsibility for the inadvertent killing of two hostages by government drone strikes in January.The two hostages were being held by al-Qai'da in the border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The White House released a statement on Thursday morning acknowledging that their counterterrorism operation killed American hostage, Dr. Warren Weinstein, and one Italian hostage, Giovanni Lo Porto.
“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. I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families,” said President Obama.
Photo caption: President Barack Obama addresses the public from White House briefing room.
Photo credit: screen grab from White House footage.
According to White House officials, the operation was lawful and consistent with counterterrorism operations. However, in light of transparency, Obama administration is conducting a thorough independent review of what the White House is referring to as an accident.
"Based on the intelligence that we had obtained at the time, including hundreds of hours of surveillance, we believed that this was an al Qaeda compound; that no civilians were present; and that capturing these terrorists was not possible. And we do believe that the operation did take out dangerous members of al Qaeda. What we did not know, tragically, is that al Qaeda was hiding the presence of Warren and Giovanni in this same compound," said Obama.
“The uniquely tragic nature of the operation that results in the deaths of two innocent hostages is something we will do our utmost to ensure is not repeated," added the Press Secretary.
Both Weinstein and Lo Porto were aid workers in Pakistan before they were abducted. Weinstein was held since 2011 and the Italian national since 2012.
“It is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally and our fight against terrorists specifically, mistakes -- sometimes deadly mistakes -- can occur. But one of the things that sets America apart from many other nations, one of the things that makes us exceptional is our willingness to confront squarely our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes,” said Obama.
Weinstein served in the Peace Corps and later with the United States Agency for International Development. At the time of his abduction, he was a USAID contractor who helped Pakistani families escape poverty.
“Amid grief that is unimaginable, I pray that these two families will find some small measure of solace in knowing that Warren and Giovanni’s legacy will endure. Their service will be remembered by the Pakistani men, women and children whose lives they touched and made better,” added Obama.
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