John Kerry Defends His Diplomatic Efforts: ‘I May Fail – I Don’t Care’

ABC News ^

[Sub-Driver]

John Kerry Defends His Diplomatic Efforts: ‘I May Fail – I Don’t Care’

By Ali Weinberg Apr 8, 2014 4:03pm

Appearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State John Kerry defiantly defended his diplomatic efforts, saying that while ambitious, they were better than doing nothing.

While the purpose of Tuesday’s hearing was to pick through the State Department’s budget, it was Kerry’s record that came under scrutiny as his old colleagues on the committee accused him of taking on too many responsibilities with too few results.

“I think you’re about to hit the trifecta,” Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told Kerry, naming three of the most complicated issues Kerry took on: the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the Iranian nuclear program and the Middle East peace talks.

Kerry said McCain gave a “premature judgment about the failure of everything,” and noted, on Middle East talks, that the Israelis and Palestinians were still at the negotiating table.

“It’s stopped. It is stopped. Recognize reality,” McCain curtly told his former colleague.

Kerry invited McCain and other critics to lay blame at his feet.

“Sure, we may fail. And you want to dump it on me? I may fail. I don’t care. It’s worth doing. It’s worth the effort,” he said.

Earlier in the hearing, Kerry rejected a claim by Sen. Jim Risch that American foreign policy was “spinning out of control” and listed some of what he said were clear successes around the world.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

I may fail. I don’t care...

We know you don’t care, Numbnuts!

[Eleutheria5]

Main thing is, when do we get to the photo op. All I ever get to do is sit in this crummy room with these crummy people who jabber back and forth in their crummy foreign languages that aren’t French, and I don’t even get a photo op! What a jip.