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Democratic Opponents Slam Barack Obama For Speech on Pakistan
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
WASHINGTON - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's Democratic presidential rivals
slammed him Wednesday, calling it a sign of inexperience to suggest sending
GIs to Pakistan to hunt down Al Qaeda terrorists, declaring that, "if
President Musharraf won't act, we will."
"Frankly, I am not sure what Barack is calling for in his speech this
morning. But it is dangerous and irresponsible to leave even the impression
the United States would needlessly and publicly provoke a nuclear power,"
said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in
Washington, D.C., - billed as a major foreign policy address - Obama said
that as commander in chief he would remove troops from Iraq and put them "on
the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
He offered harsh words to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who has been
the target of assassination attempts for his efforts to aid the United
States in rooting out terrorist havens in the northwestern region of his
country.
"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me
make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who
murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again," Obama said.
"If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and
President Musharraf won't act, we will."
Obama said he would place heavy conditions on the hundreds of millions of
dollars in U.S. military aid if Pakistan isn't up to the task of combating
terrorists.
"Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps,
evicting foreign fighters, and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as
a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan," he said.
Obama's critics said being confrontational toward Pakistan doesn't help
fight the War on Terror.
Hunting down Usama bin Laden and stopping terrorists from acquiring nuclear
weapons is a priority, Dodd said. "But I will not declare my intentions for
specific military action to the media in the context of a political
campaign."
"My international experience tells me that we should address this problem
with tough diplomacy with General Musharraf first, leaving the military as a
last resort. It is important to reach out to moderate Muslim states and
allies to ensure we do not unnecessarily inflame the Muslim world," said New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, another 2008 Democratic presidential candidate.
Sen. Joe Biden said he wrote the recently passed law that conditions aid to
Pakistan on its cooperation with the United States in combating Al Qaeda and
the Taliban.
"Before writing the law, Biden wrote to President Musharraf and Secretary
(of State Condoleezza) Rice making clear his intent to do so," a statement
from Biden's campaign reads.
The statement then went on to ridicule Obama for not asking Amb. John
Negroponte at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in January
anything about Afghanistan or the Taliban, and quoted him discussing the
"stunning level of mercury in fish."
"It's good to see Sen. Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but
this can hardly be considered bold leadership." said Biden campaign manager
Luis Navarro.
In his remarks, Obama had plenty of criticism of President Bush for his
handling of the War on Terror.
"The president would have us believe that every bomb in Baghdad is part of
Al Qaeda's war against us, not an Iraqi civil war. He elevates Al Qaeda in
Iraq - which didn't exist before our invasion - and overlooks the people who
hit us on 9/11, who are training new recruits in Pakistan," Obama said,
adding: "He confuses our mission."
Bush has said he would order military action if intelligence showed top
terror leaders were hiding in Afghanistan, but the relationship with
Musharraf has been friendly and cooperative.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said none of the administration's policies
about keeping military options open to respond to actionable intelligence
precludes working with the Pakistanis. He cited the capture of Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed as an example of an important joint operation that yielded
successful results.
"Our approach to Pakistan is one that not only respects the sovereignty of
Pakistan as a sovereign government, but is also designed to work in a way
where we are working in cooperation with the local government," he said.
In his remarks, Obama made no mention of Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary
Clinton. She called his foreign policy views last week naive and has
continued to build a growing lead in the polls amid increasingly vocal
concerns among Democratic voters about Obama's relative lack of experience.
While she and other Democrats say the United States is safer since Sept. 11,
2001, Obama continues to disagree.
"Because of a war in Iraq that should never have been authorized and should
never have been waged, we are now less safe than we were before 9/11," he
said.
Democratic Opponents Slam Barack Obama For Speech on Pakistan
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
WASHINGTON - Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's Democratic presidential rivals
slammed him Wednesday, calling it a sign of inexperience to suggest sending
GIs to Pakistan to hunt down Al Qaeda terrorists, declaring that, "if
President Musharraf won't act, we will."
"Frankly, I am not sure what Barack is calling for in his speech this
morning. But it is dangerous and irresponsible to leave even the impression
the United States would needlessly and publicly provoke a nuclear power,"
said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn.
In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in
Washington, D.C., - billed as a major foreign policy address - Obama said
that as commander in chief he would remove troops from Iraq and put them "on
the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
He offered harsh words to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, who has been
the target of assassination attempts for his efforts to aid the United
States in rooting out terrorist havens in the northwestern region of his
country.
"I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me
make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who
murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again," Obama said.
"If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and
President Musharraf won't act, we will."
Obama said he would place heavy conditions on the hundreds of millions of
dollars in U.S. military aid if Pakistan isn't up to the task of combating
terrorists.
"Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps,
evicting foreign fighters, and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as
a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan," he said.
Obama's critics said being confrontational toward Pakistan doesn't help
fight the War on Terror.
Hunting down Usama bin Laden and stopping terrorists from acquiring nuclear
weapons is a priority, Dodd said. "But I will not declare my intentions for
specific military action to the media in the context of a political
campaign."
"My international experience tells me that we should address this problem
with tough diplomacy with General Musharraf first, leaving the military as a
last resort. It is important to reach out to moderate Muslim states and
allies to ensure we do not unnecessarily inflame the Muslim world," said New
Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, another 2008 Democratic presidential candidate.
Sen. Joe Biden said he wrote the recently passed law that conditions aid to
Pakistan on its cooperation with the United States in combating Al Qaeda and
the Taliban.
"Before writing the law, Biden wrote to President Musharraf and Secretary
(of State Condoleezza) Rice making clear his intent to do so," a statement
from Biden's campaign reads.
The statement then went on to ridicule Obama for not asking Amb. John
Negroponte at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing in January
anything about Afghanistan or the Taliban, and quoted him discussing the
"stunning level of mercury in fish."
"It's good to see Sen. Obama has finally arrived at the right position, but
this can hardly be considered bold leadership." said Biden campaign manager
Luis Navarro.
In his remarks, Obama had plenty of criticism of President Bush for his
handling of the War on Terror.
"The president would have us believe that every bomb in Baghdad is part of
Al Qaeda's war against us, not an Iraqi civil war. He elevates Al Qaeda in
Iraq - which didn't exist before our invasion - and overlooks the people who
hit us on 9/11, who are training new recruits in Pakistan," Obama said,
adding: "He confuses our mission."
Bush has said he would order military action if intelligence showed top
terror leaders were hiding in Afghanistan, but the relationship with
Musharraf has been friendly and cooperative.
White House spokesman Tony Snow said none of the administration's policies
about keeping military options open to respond to actionable intelligence
precludes working with the Pakistanis. He cited the capture of Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed as an example of an important joint operation that yielded
successful results.
"Our approach to Pakistan is one that not only respects the sovereignty of
Pakistan as a sovereign government, but is also designed to work in a way
where we are working in cooperation with the local government," he said.
In his remarks, Obama made no mention of Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary
Clinton. She called his foreign policy views last week naive and has
continued to build a growing lead in the polls amid increasingly vocal
concerns among Democratic voters about Obama's relative lack of experience.
While she and other Democrats say the United States is safer since Sept. 11,
2001, Obama continues to disagree.
"Because of a war in Iraq that should never have been authorized and should
never have been waged, we are now less safe than we were before 9/11," he
said.
