they deprived these men of precious, irreplaceable years with family who miss them terribly. in a statement put out by elaine winestein, the wife of the american aid worker who was killed, she faulted some elements of the u.s. government in negotiating for her husband, but she said the ultimate responsibility for her husband s death rests with his captors. quote, we do not fully understand all the facts surrounding warren s death, but we do understand that the u.s. government will be conducting an independent investigation of the circumstances. we look forward to the results of that investigation. but those who took warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility. i can assure you that he would still be alive and well if they had allowed him to return home after his time abroad, working to help the people of pakistan. u.s. congressman john delaney of maryland has worked for years to help get warren weinstein released. he joins us now along with nbc news terrorism ana
11. at first, the want carries wanted money and then it changed to almost a politically motivated abduction. they wanted a prisoner swap and that is why they were keeping warren weinstein alive. they wanted their jobs back in explaining for there are aid. warren was going to get my extra keys out. as his family point pd out, he was trying to peek erdup. the u.s. president afollow guising in the meantime. mr. with he instein s wife reportedly criticizing the government for its handling of hostages and their families, calling it inconsistent, though saying the families will be financially compensated. that s the reaction from washington that we know. what is the reaction from pakistan?
as president and as commander in chief, i take full responsibility for all our counterterrorism operations. i profoundly regret what happened on behalf of the united states government. i offer our deepest apologies to the families. the obama administration sains says weinstein and la porto died in the first of two counterstrikes after hundreds of mours of surveillance that determined there were no civilians present. they caution the air assaults were aimed at the al qaeda pounds, not members of the group. but killed in the strikes were two american terrorists. weinstein s widow released a statement saying we are devastated by this news and the knowledge that my husband will never safely return home. but those who took warren captive over three years ago bears the responsibility.
release would have done everything possible to do so. but those who took warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility. two americans associated with al qaeda were also killed in the drone strikes according to u.s. officials. ahmed farooque, a deputy al qaeda commander and adam gadahn, the terrorist organization s top spokesman and propagandist. president obama has ordered a full review of what happened. it is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally and our fight against terrorists specifically mistakes, sometimes deadly mistakes, can occur. but one of the things that sets america apart from many other nations, one of the things that makes us exceptional, is our willingness to confront squarely our imperfections and to learn from our mistakes. according to the white house the drone strikes were not aimed at specific individuals within al qaeda.
working as aid workers in pakistan when al qaeda abducted them, weinstein in 2011, lo porto in 2012. weinstein s wife elaine stayed in a statement on behalf of the family, quote, we are devastated by this news and the knowledge that my husband will never safely return home. we were so hopeful that those in the u.s. and pakistani governments with the power to take action and secure his release would have done everything possible to do so. but those who took warren captive over three years ago bear ultimate responsibility. two americans associated with al qaeda were also killed in the drone strikes according to u.s. officials. ahmed farooque, a deputy al qaeda commander and adam gadahn, the terrorist organization s top spokesman and propagandist. president obama has ordered a full review of what happened. it is a cruel and bitter truth that in the fog of war generally and our fight against terrorists specifically