A Democratic congressman lashed out at the Obama administration for its “sobering national security and government failure” in the wake of contractor Warren Weinstein’s death.
President Obama emerged in the White House briefing room today to admit that a January drone strike killed Weinstein, kidnapped in Pakistan in 2011, and Italian aid worker Giovanni Lo Porto.
Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) wasn’t yet in office when Weinstein was kidnapped while working for Arlington contractor J.E. Austin Associates, but picked up the case and got to know the Weinstein family well.
A year ago, Delaney told PJM that the understandable feeling of helplessness over al-Qaeda’s only American hostage was coupled with “thinking about how to put pressure on the various resources and assets we have as a nation” and trying to ensure that the contractor remains a “top priority.”
In a statement today, Delaney said, “I wish I would have had an opportunity to meet Warren.”
“People in his life all say Warren was a warm friend to people around the world, a man who served our country as a member of the Peace Corps and at USAID. Warren represented the very best of our country; he was a gentle and loving man who dedicated his career to building a better world. We need more Warren Weinsteins in the world,” he said.
At the same time, Delaney is “saddened, disappointed and outraged that our government was not able to bring Warren home.”
“Today’s news is 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,” the congressman said. “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, and that we drive tangible improvements to our hostage response process from an intelligence and resources coordination perspective.”
“I have been working on legislation to reform, streamline and upgrade our ability to respond to hostage taking, which I plan to introduce soon, in the hope that more families don’t suffer the same fate. It is essential that the review of this tragic accident be a true investigation that focuses on the events surrounding Warren’s death and the intelligence efforts that were deployed to locate him. Our national security and intelligence response to hostages must improve and improve quickly.”
Delaney suggested on CNN that there should be one person, akin to a “hostage czar,” who can bring together all the departments of government when Americans are seized instead of the scattered response that happens now.
“This doesn’t end with Warren,” Delaney said, stressing there are “other hostages over there too” and efforts must be “redoubled” to prioritize their safe return.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said the “manner in which Dr. Weinstein and Mr. Lo Porto were killed makes this situation all the more difficult to process.”
“The United States and our allies must work to ensure that the men and women who dedicate their lives to international development are properly safeguarded against threats….I will do all in my power to ensure that Warren Weinstein, his family, and fellow aid workers see justice for his needless suffering at the hands of al-Qaeda,” he said.
Cardin added that he’d received a preliminary briefing from CIA Director John Brennan and “requested a full account of the events that led to Dr. Weinstein’s and Mr. Lo Porto’s deaths.”
Weinstein’s other home-state senator, Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), says she has “many questions about how this tragedy occurred, and I urge a comprehensive U.S. Government review of the case as soon as possible.”
Elaine Weinstein thanked the lawmakers for helping with her husband’s case. “Unfortunately, the assistance we received from other elements of the U.S. Government was inconsistent and disappointing over the course of three and a half years. We hope that my husband’s death and the others who have faced similar tragedies in recent months will finally prompt the U.S. Government to take its responsibilities seriously and establish a coordinated and consistent approach to supporting hostages and their families,” she said in a statement.
“I am disappointed in the government and military in Pakistan. Warren’s safe return should have been a priority for them based on his contributions to their country, but they failed to take action earlier in his captivity when opportunity presented itself, instead treating Warren’s captivity as more of an annoyance than a priority. I hope the nature of our future relationship with Pakistan is reflective of how they prioritize situations such as these.”
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said everyone “cannot lose sight of who is truly to blame for the deaths of Weinsten and Lo Porto — the al-Qaeda terrorists who kidnapped them.”
“Al-Qaeda intentionally puts hostages and civilians in harm’s way in hopes of pressuring us to curtail our efforts,” Thornberry said. “We cannot let our regret over this tragic incident dampen our resolve to end the terrorist threat to all Americans.”
“I firmly believe the dedicated Americans engaged in those efforts take very seriously the need to prevent collateral damage and limit the risk to innocent people, and they, too, share in the grief being felt by the Weinstein and Lo Porto families,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.).
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