Amazingly Dumb': Senior State Dept. Official Slammed Over Tweet About Islamic State's Purported Execution of Japanese Prisoner

Rick Stengel, an under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, posted a curious reaction on Twitter Saturday to reports that the Islamic State had executed Japanese hostage Haruna Yukawa.

“Brutal criminal murder of Japanese citizen #Haruna Yukawa by the terrorist group #Daesh,” Stengel tweeted. “Nothing religious about it.”

Brutal criminal murder of Japanese citizen #Haruna Yukawa by the terrorist group #Daesh. Nothing religious about it.

— Rick Stengel (@stengel) January 24, 2015

Stengel's "nothing religious about it" conclusion seems to fall in line with the Obama administration's refusal to connect the Islamic State's widespread killings to the teachings of radical Islam or Islamic extremism, the Washington Free Beacon noted.

As you might imagine, Twitter users didn't quite see things Stengel's way:

Amazingly dumb. MT @stengel Brutal criminal murder of Japanese citizen #Haruna Yukawa by terrorist group #Daesh. Nothing religious about it.

— Zach Novetsky (@ZNovetsky) January 24, 2015

@stengel not living in reality

— Joseph Russo (@josephrusso24) January 24, 2015

Once again our wholly inept State Dept makes an ass of itself. This time it's @stengelhttps://t.co/KzB9GB1os7

— nextinstinct (@nextinstinct)

January 24, 2015

@jkirchick @SohrabAhmari "Nothing religious about it" @stengel sounds like Costanza's homage to delusion: "It's not a lie if you believe it"

— Jack Jolis (@JackJolis) January 25, 2015

@ZNovetsky @stengel How many plausible causes can one concoct, so as to avoid attributing any of it to Islam?

— Kayvon Afshari (@KayvonAfshari) January 25, 2015

Stengel was managing editor of Time magazine before taking the state department job.

(H/T: Weasel Zippers)

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