State Dept. Spox Jen Psaki: It’s ‘Unfair’ To Say that We Negotiate with Terrorists
CAMEROTA: “Isn’t the Jordanian pilot a member of their military and the Jordanians don’t want to leave him behind?”
PSAKI: “He is. And Jordan is a sovereign country. We’re simply stating what our positions are and this is no question, Alisyn — and that’s why we’re all talking about this, this is a complicated situation. It’s not just one hostage. There are hostages from Japan. There are hostages from many countries around the world. So, we need to see what happens here and, of course, we’ll address it as it happens.”
CAMEROTA: “Are you as the State Department sending messages to Jordan that they should not engage in any sort of prisoner swap with ISIS?”
PSAKI: “Well, unfortunately, because of our own American hostages and the terrible tragedies and horrific acts that happened last year, we’ve been talking quite a bit about what our positions are. So, there are no secrets about that. I think the world knows where the United States stands. We have been engaged with both the government of Jordan and the government of Japan, but given how sensitive this situation is I’m just not going to lay that out further.”
CAMEROTA: "We are in a bit of a conundrum because as you've said, the U.S. never negotiates with terrorists except those times that we do --"
PSAKI: "Well --"
CAMEROTA: "-- such as the Bowe Bergdahl situation with the Taliban. I mean, it's hard for us to have truly the high moral ground on this, isn't it?"
PSAKI: "It's a little bit unfair to state it that way, I have to say. Look, we have positions for a reason. It's not just to have the position. We believe that when you make concessions to terrorists, it puts more American citizens at risk, paying ransoms and negotiating can do that. Now, we have a policy, of course, for the men and women who volunteer to serve our country and proudly do that around the world. I don't think anyone is suggesting we should leave them behind. That's our policy. Every country has a different policy and this has been an international debate for good reason, and I think that will unfortunately continue."
