Jake Sullivan unsure if drone strike in Syria took out Al-Qaeda leader or shepherd with 10 kids

Doug P. | 3:00 PM on May 22, 2023

The Biden administration initially claimed that a drone strike in Syria had killed a senior Al-Qaeda leader.

Then the Pentagon started walking that back:

U.S. military officials are walking back claims that a recent strike in Syria killed an influential al-Qaeda figure, following assertions by the dead man’s family that he had no ties to terrorists but was a father of 10 tending to his sheep when he was slain by an American missile.

Lotfi Hassan Misto, 56, whose family identified him as the victim of a Hellfire missile attack on May 3, was a former bricklayer who lived quietly in this town in northwest Syria, according to interviews with his brother, son and six others who knew him. They described a kind, hard-working man whose “whole life was spent poor.”

The operation was overseen by U.S. Central Command, which claimed hours after the strike, without citing evidence or naming a suspect, that the Predator drone strike had targeted a “senior Al Qaeda leader.” But now there is doubt inside the Pentagon about who was killed, two U.S. defense officials told The Washington Post.

Biden NatSec adviser Jake Sullivan was asked about it this weekend, and he couldn’t answer the question (and you know what that means):

.⁦@JakeSullivan46⁩: I don’t know if it’s true if we droned a 56-year-old shepherd with 10 kids & no connections to terrorism pic.twitter.com/rvyp3ktlbA

— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) May 21, 2023

Tapper: “If it is true that it was a civilian killed, is anybone going to be held accountable?”

Sullivan: “Well in fact it was President Biden who stood up, with Secretary Austin, guidelines for this administration to ensure that there would be accountability and oversight of any potential casualties from counterterrorism strikes.”

Really? Even Lloyd Austin admitted not long ago that nobody was held accountable for the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster, which included drone strike that killed ten civilians. Zero accountability ensued.

I'm not sure that they could pay me enough to so obviously and blatantly lie on national television. It's not even spin here, it's soulless lying. https://t.co/lMJnx6thmZ

— Fusilli Spock (@awstar11) May 22, 2023

the Pentagon will investigate itself and there will be so much accountability, you guys. https://t.co/sO5e49GVAs

— Beth Ann Bell (@BABgeo) May 22, 2023

Yep, just like they did after the strike in Afghanistan that killed ten civilians. We repeat: There is ZERO accountability inside this administration.