During a speech in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Saturday, Secretary of State John Kerry vowed the United States would work with the Nigerian government to find and return the hundreds of female students abducted by Islamist militant group Boko Haram more than two weeks ago.
“The kidnapping of hundreds of children by Boko Haram is an unconscionable crime,” Kerry said, “and we will do everything possible to support the Nigerian government to return these young women to their homes and to hold the perpetrators to justice.”
While that particular quote has been widely disseminated in various news stories about the speech, another part of Kerry’s remarks has not. On radio this morning, Glenn read more of Kerry’s speech – particularly the part in which Kerry criticized jihadists for not offering a “health care plan” or “schools.”
“We just want to go through some of things that are happening - what John Kerry said yesterday about terrorists, you know, what the big problem is with the terrorists: ‘They don't offer health insurance,’” Glenn said. “I'm not kidding you. That's John Kerry. 'One of the problems with [terrorists is] they don't have health insurance.'”
Below is Kerry’s healthcare comment in context:
KERRY: I will tell you, my friends, I have seen this scourge of terror across the planet, and so have you. They don't offer anything except violence. They don’t offer a health care plan. They don’t offer schools. They don't tell you how to build a nation. They don’t talk about how they will provide jobs. They just tell people, ‘You have to behave the way we tell you to,’ and they will punish you if you don’t. Our responsibility and the world’s responsibility is to stand up against that kind if nihilism.
As Glenn explained, Kerry essentially condemns the jihadists for not offering big government programs to its members and the societies it threatens.
“So what John Kerry is saying is: They don't offer anything but violence. They don't offer you a health care plan, like [the Obama] Administration. They don't offer to pay for the all the schools or tell you how to build a nation – like ‘you didn't build this.’ They don't tell you how they'll provide jobs like [the U.S. government] provides jobs. They just tell people – just like [progressives] – ‘you have to behave the way we tell you to, or we'll punish you if you don't,’” Glenn explained. “You are talking two sides out of your mouth. What are you saying?”
Front page image courtesy of the AP