Kaine Statement On Hostages Killed In U.S. Counterterror Operation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement on the announcement from President Obama today regarding a U.S. airstrike that killed an American and Italian aid worker in January:

“My deepest condolences go out to the families of Warren Weinstein and Giovanni Lo Porto who we learned today were accidentally killed in an American counterterror operation on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in January. I’m pleased the President has already initiated a full review of this incident and urge the Administration to ensure it is completed quickly and transparently.  This incident clearly demonstrates the need to understand the role intelligence plays in the targeting of these strikes and the process by which these types of decisions are made. The deaths of two innocent aid workers offer a grim reminder of the perils of our fight against terrorism and reinforces the need to examine and update the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force passed in the wake of 9/11 in order to narrow its scope, clarify what it allows, and make it suitable for the new challenges we face today, fourteen years after its original passage.”

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