John Kasich agrees with John McCain about moving the drone program from the CIA
Possible Republican Presidential Candidate Gov. John Kasich (R-OH) agrees with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), chairman of the Armed Services Committee, about needing to move the drone program from the CIA to the military.
Like McCain, Kasich believes that the CIA’s job is to gather intelligence and not to carry out extensive military activities.
During an interview with CNN’s Gloria Berger, Kasich said, “I don’t believe the drone program ought to be run out of the CIA. The CIA is an intelligence gathering, operation. The operation, the drone program should be operated exclusively out of the Pentagon.”
Kasich also told Berger that former CIA agents share his concerns and that the military should be carrying out drone operations against suspected targets.
“The Air Force has the capability of doing extensive targeting. You don’t have those capabilities in the CIA. And I’ve talk to former CIA people who’ve told me this,” said Kasich.
After the deaths of Western hostages Dr. Warren Weinstein (U.S. citizen) and Giovanni Lo Porto (Italian citizen), questions were raised about whether Congress and the Obama Administration needs to take a second look at the CIA’s handling of the drone program.
Weinstein and Lo Porto were killed during January of this year after a drone strike on an al-Qaeda compound along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
President Obama apologized to the families of Weinstein and Lo Porto, as well as promised a thorough review of the operation that resulted in the tragic event.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” McCain told Jim Acosta that the CIA does not have the capabilities to successfully administer the drone program.
“Obviously as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, I have some bias. But it seems to me that as much as we could give responsibility and authority over to the Department of Defense because that is really not the job of the Intelligence Agency,” said McCain.
Acosta asked McCain if under the circumstances he believed that Weinstein and Lo Porto’s deaths were preventable.
McCain responded that there was a miscommunication that points to that being the case. McCain told Acosta, “I think it was probably preventable in that there was an obvious break-down in intelligence-they didn’t know that they were there…So, it was obviously preventable.”
McCain acknowledged that the war against terrorist suspects has expanded and that drones are sometimes a better option than placing “boots on the ground.”
However, McCain also told Acosta that the drone program’s increasing importance to the US’ fight against terrorism is why the drone program should not be administered by the intelligence community but by the military.
McCain went on to say that he believes the CIA does not want to give up its control of the program, but that recent events have placed that question back on the table and that Congress will be speaking with the Obama Administration about the current state of the drone program under the CIA’s leadership.
Like McCain, Kasich believes that the CIA’s job is to gather intelligence and not to carry out extensive military activities.
During an interview with CNN’s Gloria Berger, Kasich said, “I don’t believe the drone program ought to be run out of the CIA. The CIA is an intelligence gathering, operation. The operation, the drone program should be operated exclusively out of the Pentagon.”
Kasich also told Berger that former CIA agents share his concerns and that the military should be carrying out drone operations against suspected targets.
“The Air Force has the capability of doing extensive targeting. You don’t have those capabilities in the CIA. And I’ve talk to former CIA people who’ve told me this,” said Kasich.
After the deaths of Western hostages Dr. Warren Weinstein (U.S. citizen) and Giovanni Lo Porto (Italian citizen), questions were raised about whether Congress and the Obama Administration needs to take a second look at the CIA’s handling of the drone program.
Weinstein and Lo Porto were killed during January of this year after a drone strike on an al-Qaeda compound along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
President Obama apologized to the families of Weinstein and Lo Porto, as well as promised a thorough review of the operation that resulted in the tragic event.
During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” McCain told Jim Acosta that the CIA does not have the capabilities to successfully administer the drone program.
“Obviously as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, I have some bias. But it seems to me that as much as we could give responsibility and authority over to the Department of Defense because that is really not the job of the Intelligence Agency,” said McCain.
Acosta asked McCain if under the circumstances he believed that Weinstein and Lo Porto’s deaths were preventable.
McCain responded that there was a miscommunication that points to that being the case. McCain told Acosta, “I think it was probably preventable in that there was an obvious break-down in intelligence-they didn’t know that they were there…So, it was obviously preventable.”
McCain acknowledged that the war against terrorist suspects has expanded and that drones are sometimes a better option than placing “boots on the ground.”
However, McCain also told Acosta that the drone program’s increasing importance to the US’ fight against terrorism is why the drone program should not be administered by the intelligence community but by the military.
McCain went on to say that he believes the CIA does not want to give up its control of the program, but that recent events have placed that question back on the table and that Congress will be speaking with the Obama Administration about the current state of the drone program under the CIA’s leadership.
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