Kerry Hints at Drone Threat to Taliban in Swap
Guardian (UK) | Jun 09, 2014 | by Paul Lewis
The U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry hinted over the weekend that five Guantanamo Bay detainees released in exchange for an American soldier could be killed by drone strike if they return to the battlefield.
Kerry's threat against the Taliban fighters came as Republicans ramped-up their criticism of the deal to release Bowe Bergdahl, a prisoner of the Taliban for five years until he was freed last week. The 28-year-old soldier has reportedly told medical staff that he was tortured and beaten by his captors, and once locked in a metal cage in total darkness as punishment for an attempted escape.
Yesterday, it emerged the FBI is investigating death threats against Bergdahl's parents, who have not reacted publicly to the intense political debate now raging over the wisdom of trading five Guantanamo detainees for their son.
Republicans say the Taliban members, some of whom were senior commanders, are likely to return to Afghan conflict after the year they are compelled to stay in Qatar, which brokered the prisoner swap and has promised to monitor the five men.
But Kerry told CNN that the men were also being closely monitored by the U.S., which has "the ability to do things" if the terms of the arrangement with Qatar were violated. Although he did not overtly refer to drone strikes, he said the five men would be liable to get killed by the U.S. if they returned to the ranks of the Taliban.
"I am not telling you they don't have the ability to go back and get involved [in the Afghan conflict]," he said. "But they also have an ability to get killed doing that. I don't think anybody should doubt the capacity of the USA to protect Americans."
Asked if that meant the U.S. would kill them, Kerry replied: "The president has always said he will do whatever is necessary in order to protect the USA . ... So these guys pick a fight with us in the future, now, or at any time, at enormous risk. We have proven what we are capable of doing with the core al-Qaida in west Pakistan, Afghanistan."
The CIA is believed to have conducted more than 350 drone strikes in Pakistan since 2004, killing hundreds of al-Qaida-aligned fighters.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2014/06/09/kerry-hints-at-drone-threat-to-taliban-in-swap.html