On Sunday John Kerry forgot the number one rule of being miked for an interview; the microphone is always on. The Secretary of State was miked and on camera waiting for an interview with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace when he spoke to an aide about an Israeli operation resulting in the deaths of 14 IDF solders. Kerry’s reaction was a mocking:

It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation.We’ve got to get over there. Thank you, John. I think, John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.”

Kerry was shaking his head no as Wallace explained that he was going to play the conversation. But when given the opportunity to explain himself Kerry went into full “diplo-spin” mode.

Wallace: Secretary Kerry when you said it’s a hell of a pinpoint operation are you upset that the Israelis are going too far and in fact do you intend to go back to the Middle East tonight, sir?

Kerry: It’s very difficult in these situations, obviously very difficult, Chris. You have people who have come out of tunnels. You have a right to go in and take out those tunnels. We completely support that. We support Israelis right to defend itself against rockets that are continuing to come in. Hamas has start this process rocketing after Israel was trying to find the people who killed three young –one American kid, Israeli citizens. It’s disgraceful. Yeah, it’s tough. It’s tough to have this kind of operation. I reacted obviously in a way that, in a way that anybody does with respect to young children and civilians. But war is tough. I said that publicly and I’ll say it again. We defend Israel’s right to do what it is doing in order to get at those tunnels. Israel has accepted a unilateral cease-fire. It’s accepted the Egyptian plan, which we also support. And it is important for Hamas to now step up and be reasonable and understand that you accept the cease-fire, you save lives, and that’s the way we can proceed to have a discussion about all of the underlying issues which President Obama has clearly indicated a willingness to do.

(The full conversation is embedded at the end of this post.)

The difference between Kerry’s comments when he thought he was off camera and when questioned about it by Wallace makes one wonder which other public statements made by the Secretary of State were coverups of what his real feelings are.