Touré: Drone Critics 'Getting A Little Soft,' 'Defending Civil Liberties Of Al Qaeda Members' (VIDEO)

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MSNBC's Touré addressed the critics of his views on the Obama administration's drone policy on Monday.

The "Cycle" co-host was singled out for his passionate defense of the controversial program last week. He attempted to explain his position on Monday.

"I am not pro-drone," he said. "But I am pro killing those who are working to kill us."

He said he thought "war crimes may have been committed" in the program (later adding that there had been "huge mistakes" made), but that this did not dampen his support for it. Nor, he went on, did the program's targeting of American citizens. "If you are in al Qaeda working to kill Americans you should be killed," he added.

Touré continued that the civilian death toll from drone strikes was far less heavy than from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Then, he chided its critics for not being tough enough against al Qaeda.

"I wonder if some in this nation are getting a little soft when they are defending the civil liberties of al Qaeda members," he said. "...People hiding in ungovernable tribal areas who still pose a threat must be dealt with. I understand the fears of progressives, as Obama conducts a foreign policy that looks a lot like Bush's. But we face a lot of the same problems that he did."

A counterpoint to this view could be found from Touré's MSNBC colleague Chris Hayes. On his Sunday show, he wondered why the choice had to be between "big violence and smaller violence."

"That argument presupposes that we are at war and must continue to be at war until an ill-defined enemy is vanquished," he said. "What, people ask, is the alternative to small war, if not big war? And the answer no one ever seems to even consider is: no war."