Obama Vows to Hunt al Qaeda in Pakistan
US presidential hopeful says US made mistake by relying on Musharraf
Daily Times Monitor
LAHORE: Criticising the Bush administration’s reliance on President Pervez Musharraf’s role in the war on terror, United States presidential hopeful Barack Obama has vowed to go after Al Qaeda in Pakistan.
News One TV channel on Friday quoted him as saying in a CNN Democratic presidential debate in Austin, Texas, that the US had made a mistake by putting all its “eggs in the Musharraf basket”. He said the US should go after Al Qaeda and make sure that Pakistan was serious about hunting down terrorists and expanding democratic rule.
Promising that he would do everything to keep America safe if he were to become president, Obama said, “I will do whatever is required to accomplish that. I will not hesitate to act against those that would do America harm.”
The Democratic senator also attacked rival Hillary Clinton for her decision to support US troop deployment to Iraq. Terming the military’s intervention in Iraq as the “single-most important foreign policy decision of this generation”, he said, “I believe I showed the judgment of a commander-in-chief [by standing against troop deployment]. And I think that Senator Clinton was wrong in her judgments on that.”
The Illinois senator also suggested that sending US forces to Iraq had negatively impacted military operations in Afghanistan.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
Which of course, was gleefully reported in the Indian media as:
Obama olive branch to India
K.P. NAYAR
Washington, Feb. 23: Even as the Democratic presidential nomination becomes an uphill challenge for Hillary Clinton, the party’s frontrunner, Barack Obama, is mending fences with ethnic groups, such as Indian Americans whom he had alienated in the early stages of his campaign.
In a signed article in India Abroad, a leading Indian- American weekly, Obama spoke of his support for the Indo-US nuclear deal, but stopped just short of saying that he would continue the Bush administration’s vigorous pursuit of the deal if he was elected President.
Extracts from the article, which is yet to be published, were made available here this morning.
Describing India and the US as “natural partners”, Obama wrote: “That is why I voted for the US-India nuclear energy deal on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. And that is why I will move forward to build a close strategic partnership between the US and India when I am President of the US”.
There is a sense of history repeating itself about Obama’s approach to India.
When George W Bush became US President in 2001, about the only policy of his predecessor Bill Clinton that he did not dump was Clinton’s opening to India.
It would appear from Obama’s article — his first policy articulation on South Asia since he became a presidential aspirant — that geopolitical compulsions have made him realise that Bush’s approach to India was a strategic necessity for the US.
“The world’s oldest democracy and the world’s largestdemocracy are natural partners, sharing important interests and fundamental democratic values,” Obama wrote.
Describing the fight against terrorism as a factor that brings together Washington and New Delhi, hewrote: “Both countries have been victims of catastrophic terrorist attacks, and we have a shared interest in succeeding in the fight against al Qaida and its operational and ideological affiliates.” A significant difference with the outgoing Bush administration that the Democratic frontrunner highlighted in his article referred to Pakistan.
“We cannot put all of our eggs in the Musharraf basket in Pakistan,” Obama asserted. “Long before the declaration of martial law in Pakistan,” he recalled having argued that “we need to condition our assistance to the Pakistani government so that we encourage stronger action against al Qaida and a restoration of democracy” in Pakistan.
“Our goal remains not simply an all-in Pakistan, our goal is a democratic ally, with a vibrant civil society and strong institutions.”
Obama referred to a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi which is on the wall of his Senate office and described his admiration for Gandhiji.
“In my life, I have always looked to Mahatma Gandhi asan inspiration, because he embodies the kind of transformational change that can be made when ordinary people come together to do extraordinary things.
“That is why his portrait hangs in my Senate office, to remind me that real results will not just come from Washington, they will come from the people.
“And that is why I am proud to have the long-standing support of so many Indian Americans in all aspects of my campaign, as well as the endorsements of leading elected Indian American lawmakers”.
The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | International | Obama olive branch to India
Obama Threatens Pakistan (Again...)
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