Political streamer Hasan Piker defended his previous characterization of the United States as the world’s leading source of terrorism, telling Axios he believes U.S. actions have caused more deaths than al-Qaida while Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed rejected the comparison.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Hasan Piker, one of Twitch’s most prominent political streamers, said in an interview released Thursday that he believes the United States has carried out more terrorism around the world than al-Qaida when measured by the number of people killed.
During the Axios interview, Piker was asked whether he continued to stand by his previous assertion that America is the “top dog in terrorism.”
“Pound for pound as far as the number of deaths, yes,” Piker responded.
“We have caused tremendous terror all around the world,” he added.
Axios reported that Piker was comparing U.S. military actions with al-Qaida, the terrorist organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Piker pointed to the February strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Iran, as an example supporting his argument.
“If you’re killing 140 schoolgirls, that is an act of terror,” Piker said during a video excerpt from the interview, while making clear that he was not accusing Americans generally of being terrorists.
The precise death toll from the school strike remains disputed. Iranian state media have reported that 168 people were killed, most of them children, while an Associated Press investigation found evidence that at least one U.S. missile struck the school. A U.N.-commissioned fact-finding mission said Thursday it had reasonable grounds to believe the United States carried out the Minab attack and another strike in Iran in ways that could constitute war crimes. The findings are allegations by the independent experts and are not a judicial determination. The Trump administration has not released the final findings of its Pentagon investigation into the school strike.
Piker’s comments have also become part of the political fight surrounding Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, where Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed is running against Republican nominee Mike Rogers.
Piker campaigned alongside El-Sayed during the Democratic primary, and Republican-affiliated organizations have since spent nearly $3 million on advertising seeking to connect El-Sayed to Piker and his past statements, according to AdImpact figures reported by Axios.
A major focus of those attacks has been Piker’s 2019 statement that “America deserved 9/11.”
Piker subsequently apologized for the remark and has said he was attempting to describe what he considers the “blowback” produced by decades of American foreign policy in the Middle East, rather than defending or justifying the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
“This doesn’t justify the action,” Piker told Axios, explaining that he considers his argument an effort to analyze the causes of violence and prevent additional attacks.
Rogers and Republican groups have continued emphasizing El-Sayed’s relationship with Piker. Rogers used the association during the Republican midterm convention in Dallas, accusing the two of attacking the United States and excusing extremism. Axios previously reported that Rogers and allied groups had increasingly incorporated Piker’s remarks into their criticism of El-Sayed surrounding the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
El-Sayed, however, has explicitly rejected Piker’s latest comparison of the United States and al-Qaida.
“I do not agree with this statement,” El-Sayed told Axios when asked about Piker’s comments.
El-Sayed added that he gives little weight to statements from “a social media streamer.”
El-Sayed has also rejected Piker’s previous statement that “America deserved 9/11,” saying the United States did not deserve the terrorist attacks.
Despite those disagreements, El-Sayed has defended his willingness to communicate with Piker, saying this week that his interest is in reaching the millions of people who follow the streamer rather than endorsing everything Piker says.
Axios reported that El-Sayed said the reason he speaks with Piker is because roughly 3 million people pay attention to him, while arguing that political figures should not be told whom they are permitted to speak with.
Piker’s latest comments therefore add another point of disagreement between the streamer and El-Sayed even as their past appearances together continue to be used by Republicans as an issue in Michigan’s Senate campaign.
Original article
Comments