The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has criticized the glaring hypocrisy and inconsistency of the Obama Administration for urging Israel to free Palestinian Arab terrorists with Jewish blood on their hands while simultaneously expressing outrage that Afghan President Hamid Karzai intends to free dozens of prisoners with the blood of Americans on their hands.
Just months after the U.S. ceded control over all prisons in Afghanistan to Afghan authorities, President Karzai is reneging on assurances he gave the U.S. that dangerous Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorists would be detained and not enabled to return to combat against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan. The Karzai’s government has quietly planned on releasing 85 prisoners which will include committed terrorists who have attacked ands killed Americans. “These are guys that are tied directly to killing and trying to kill our forces and Afghan forces,” an American military official said. “This is an issue of deep concern. It is serious” (Matthew Rosenberg, ‘Afghans’ Plan to Release Prisoners Angers U.S.,’ New York Times, December 31, 2013).
The U.S. wants the freed terrorists to be prosecuted and says 30% carried out direct attacks that killed or wounded 60 coalition troops, and 40% killed 57 Afghans, including police and security forces (Tamara Cohen, ‘Afghan president to free scores of Taliban fighters: Karzai condemned over betrayal of British war dead,’ Daily Mail [London], January 1, 2014).
ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “It is well known that the Obama Administration, despite a public position of seeking resumed Israeli/Palestinian negotiations without preconditions, strongly pressured Israel to accede to Palestinian demands to free Jew-killing terrorists in order to kick-start Israeli/Palestinian peace talks.
“As a result of this, a further 26 jailed Palestinian terrorists were freed by Israel this week.
“As we have previously argued, freeing terrorists is contrary to justice, reason, deterrence and the security and safety of Israelis, many of whom have been murdered by terrorists freed in previous terrorist releases. For example, the former head of the Mossad, Meir Dagan, disclosed that 231 Israelis had been murdered by terrorists that were freed in 2004 in exchange for a kidnapped Israeli citizen, Elhanan Tenenbaum.
“In the current Afghan instance, we see the same sort of hypocrisy and lack of principle that the Obama Administration displayed when it urged Israel last year to free Palestinian terrorists –– but simultaneously expressed anger that Mexico had freed a drug lord responsible for the kidnapping and torture of an American.
“If the freeing of Afghan terrorists killers is contrary to justice, reason, deterrence and the security and safety of Americans –– and it is –– then it is no less contrary to justice, reason and the security of Israelis than the freeing of Palestinian terrorists.”