Hillary talks Algeria crisis from Tokyo. Oh, she's over her immaculate concussion? Well go testify, wench!

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / December 18, 2013

Friday, 18 January 2013 

Clinton was meeting Friday with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which has been unusually vocal in its criticism and summoned the Algerian ambassador to demand more information on its nationals. (AFP)

 

inShare1

By AFP Washington

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday urged Algeria to prioritize the lives of civilians as she held talks on the “extremely fluid” hostage crisis, her spokeswoman said.


The Secretary of State reportedly looked refreshed and energized, and is obviously over her immaculate concussion, which allowed her to go AWOL on her obligation to testify on Benghazi.

“The situation remains extremely fluid on the ground. We are continuing our work with the government of Algeria and other affected nations to try to resolve this issue,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.

Clinton “obviously expressed our concern for our citizens. They had some detailed conversation about that,” Nuland told reporters.

“As we have throughout this, we urged that we minimize loss of civilian life here,” she said.

Nuland appeared to rule out a prisoner swap with the Islamist gunmen, saying: “The United States does not negotiate with terrorists.”

Mauritanian news agency ANI reported that jihadist leader Mohktar Belmokhtar was proposing to swap hostages for prisoners held in the United States on terrorism charges, including Egyptian cleric Omar Abdul Rahman and Pakistani neuroscientist Aafia Siddiqui.

Abdul Rahman was convicted for his role in the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Siddiqui was convicted of trying to kill U.S. officers in 2008 after she was detained in Afghanistan.

Clinton also promised to Sellal that the United States would do more to “strengthen Algeria’s capacity against terror” after the crisis unfolds, Nuland said.

Like other U.S. officials, Nuland has said little about the condition and number of Americans who were seized in the largest kidnapping drama the world has experienced in years.

The Algerian army launched a rescue operation at the site but has revealed little about the outcome, prompting criticism from the governments of captives.

Clinton was meeting Friday with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, which has been unusually vocal in its criticism and summoned the Algerian ambassador to demand more information on its nationals.