Hillary And Obama Fault White House On Pakistan Situation
The Clinton and Obama campaigns have both responded to the current situation in Pakistan — and both of them blame the Bush Administration for what's happening.
More after the jump.
"They [the White House] have sent mixed messages over several years now to President Musharraf that rendered our policy toward Pakistan fundamentally incoherent, and now we face a situation where it's deteriorating in terms of safety," said Clinton.
Hillary also faulted Musharraf's inability to move against Islamists. "He hasn't been able to sufficiently rein them in," she said. "So his strategy up until now has not succeeded. I would hope he would move to restore constitutional government as soon as possible. I don't think the answer to the threats that Pakistan faces is ongoing emergency status."
The Obama camp, meanwhile, has put out this statement from spokesman Bill Burton:
"Senator Obama condemns the decision by President Musharraf to invoke a state of emergency. President Musharraf has broken his pledge to his own people and to the world to move toward democracy. Pakistan is a critical ally of the United States against terrorism, a nuclear weapons state, and an important nation in South Asia and within the broader Muslim world. It is in the interests of the Pakistani people and the United States to see our ally move toward democracy, as more authoritarian government will only mean more instability, more discontent, and more extremism in Pakistan."The United States must be clear and unequivocal: President Musharraf should reverse this declaration, respect the decision of the Supreme Court, and hold free and fair elections for parliament in January. At the same time, the United States must move beyond the Administration's failed policies of promoting stability over democracy, which has undercut our efforts to root out terrorists in Pakistan. We must start with a serious review of our investments in Pakistan to make sure that U.S. assistance is supporting democracy, not repression; and to ensure that concrete action is being taken against terrorism in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, so that al Qaeda terrorists who threaten America do not continue to have a safe-haven," said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Comments (7)
Matt in Costa Rica wrote on November 5, 2007 12:39 PM:Excellent statement by Obama. This is one of the reasons I support his candidacy: get tough in defense of democracy and not afraid to go head to head with the necon lunatics of the Cheney Administration. Hey Bush: Bring it on!
noexpert wrote on November 5, 2007 1:04 PM:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/magazine/04obama-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
link to article in yesterday's NY Times magazine about Obama's foreign policy strengths.
His campaign's statement on Pakistan seems far superior than Clinton's to me
Jan wrote on November 5, 2007 1:18 PM:I'm a Clinton supporter, but I wanted to express my pride in Barack Obama today. He's finally taken that step into the world of finally fighting the policies of George W. Bush instead of his fellow Democrats.
MORE of this, Senator Obama! You go, guy!
His speech in Spartanburg, SC was terrific too -- watch the speech here, it is pretty amazing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAkGr_Rrdn0
Asa wrote on November 5, 2007 2:12 PM:Edwards's statement (http://www.johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20071105-pakistan/):
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, Senator John Edwards released the following statement on the current situation in Pakistan:
"The recent developments in Pakistan are extremely worrisome. Pakistan is a state with nuclear weapons and terrorist safe havens in its northwest tribal regions. Stability in Pakistan is of utmost importance to the United States and the world. General Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule and his arrest of hundreds of political opponents will destabilize the situation, and I strongly oppose these acts. These developments also provide another reason the U.S. should not launch a 'preventive war' in Iran. At this critical moment, we cannot afford to be bogged down in Iran, especially when Pakistan, as opposed to Iran, already has nuclear weapons.
"America should be using our direct aid as well as our diplomatic arsenal as diplomatic sticks to defuse the situation in Pakistan and to restore stability and constitutionalism to Pakistan. Musharraf needs to be bringing democratic reformers into the government, not shutting them down. He needs to be extending the reach of the legitimate government to the tribal regions, not backing down to al Qaeda and the Taliban. He needs to support judicial review and the separation of powers, not fight these important constitutional institutions. And he needs to be doing everything in his power to shut down terrorist acts like the recent assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto -- not retreating from them."
kjoe wrote on November 5, 2007 2:15 PM:Good to see them on the same page on this.
I did giggle a bit at this coming from Hillary---"They [the White House]have sent mixed messages"---but she is right, they certainly have.
Why are our Ivy League elitists soft on Saudi Arabia?
