US cannot afford to ignore non-state actors: Kerry

The United States cannot afford to turn a 'blind eye' to the non-state actors in other parts of the world, US Secretary of State John Kerry said.
Addressing a Google hangout session, Kerry said that even in the times of financial strain, the US has to remain alert to what is happening in such places.
"I hope that everybody in America will simply take notice of what happens when you don't pay attention to these challenges of terrorists growing and taking over countries and/or ungoverned spaces," Kerry said in response to a question yesterday.
"The reason Osama bin Laden was able to attack the United States is that he had free license that he bought in the country in which you went to fight and to represent America. He had the ability to work with impunity to plot against the United States of America. That is the reason we went to Afghanistan," he said.

"And as a result of that, not only did we get Osama bin Laden eventually in his hiding place in Pakistan, but we have really almost ended al-Qaeda in Pakistan as a threat to the United States," Kerry added.
He said that now, there are al-Qaeda, there are terrorists in other places and every society that is a civil society that has institutions of law and opportunity for people has found itself threatened by these extremists who know no boundaries.

"We've seen sarin gas used in the subways of Tokyo. We've seen bombs go off in the trains in London in the station or in Madrid. We've seen people who were killed recently by Hezbollah in Bulgaria riding a tourist bus, trying to just travel, to enjoy," Kerry said.

"And most recently, we saw what happens through radicalisation in Boston, where a young man chose to bomb people in the marathon, or two young men did, but one certainly. There is evidence of some radicalisation," he added.
He argued that if all of these signs of threat to the United States are ignored then, it would actually endanger the people of our country.
"I happen to believe very deeply - I think President Obama shares this thought - that our efforts to try to prevent this from happening overseas and to try to reach these plots before they reach the shores of America will actually protect more Americans than choosing to ignore it," he said.