Representative Peter King (R., N.Y.), as big of a GWoT hawk as there is in Congress, not only defended drones Sunday, he took exception with tone of President Obama’s own defense of that program.
Asked by Martha Raddatz on ABC’s This Week whether the drone program needs to change, King replied: ”If it does change it shouldn’t change for moral reasons. That’s what bothered me about the president’s speech. It was moral anguish that he was going through.”
“Listen, every soldier, every cop who’s faced with a decision to make, a life or death, does the best he or she can. They limit civilian casualties. That offended me,” King added.
On the merits of the program, King, who is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said he believes it has largely worked, though could be “fine tune[d].” But, King said, he didn’t think President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University was primarily concerned with the effectiveness of drone strikes.
“I don’t think the president really addressed that in the speech. I think he was coming at it with more of a moral tone. I think it was misplaced,” King said.
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