Saturday, August 06, 2016

US State Department spokesperson: a beheading here and there does not make you a terrorist--kid you not

"QUESTION: It’s been said that the State Department is also investigating allegations – I mean, there’s a video of this group beheading a 10-year-old Palestinian boy.

MR TONER: Yes. Yeah, I’m aware of that."

"QUESTION: So what does a rebel group in Syria have to do to not receive U.S. funds any longer? What is the line that they must cross? What kind of controversial incident must take place for a group to stop receiving U.S. funds?

MR TONER: Well, first of all, there’s a lot of vetting of the Syrian moderate opposition that has already taken place, and it’s not just by the U.S., but it’s by all the members of the ISSG and, frankly, the UN. And it was established that al-Nusrah as well as Daesh or ISIL were considered to be by all members and by the UN to be terrorist organizations. I think, again, these are not easy processes, and one incident here and there would not necessarily make you a terrorist group." (thanks Amir)