Wednesday, August 08, 2007

What Obama Said On Pakistan




If Bin Laden's precise location can be found, then Obama would get in touch with Musharraf to take Bin Laden out. If Musharraf takes more than three minutes, President Obama would take Bin Laden out unilaterally. That is what he said.

Those are three big steps you are talking about.

One, can Bin Laden's precise location be found? So far that has not happened, and the US has been looking for him for close to a decade, I think. He was being sought way before 9/11. But say the US intelligence agencies do a good job and manage to find the precise location of Bin Laden's whereabouts, then what? Bin Laden is likely in some cave and not in some village or town surrounded by a whole bunch of civilians. So there would be no civilian casualties to an attack from the sky.

Musharraf is no friend of Bin Laden any more than Saddam was. Bin Laden wants Musharraf dead. Musharraf wants Bin Laden dead. That is the kind of relationship they have. Bin Laden has already made three or four attempts on Musharrafs' life, all of which were close calls. The next attempt might be a success, and Musharraf knows that. And Bin Laden knows that.

What that means is Bin Laden is trying his very best to make sure Musharraf can't find out where he is. But if the US were to be able to find out, and if the US would share that information with Musharraf, Musharraf would act, not because he owes something to the US, but because he is a soldier, a fighter with survival instincts. He will readily cooperate with the US to take Bin Laden out. That is what will happen. The US is not going to have to act unilaterally.

That is why Barack Obama said if.

Obama knows Musharraf will cooperate. But if he does not, which presidential candidate in her or his right mind would want the US to stand idly by respecting Pakistan's sovereignty? There will be a missile strike and that particular cave will be turned into rubble.

It is dishonest for Chirs Dodd to suggest Obama suggested invading Pakistan. Obama never said that. In propagating that lie, Dodd is compromising US security by not allowing an honest debate on the number one threat America faces today.

If you understand how autocratic organizations like the Al Qaeda work - they don't hold internal elections - you will understand how fundamentally important it is to take the top guy out. Look at what happened to the Shining Path in Peru after its top guy Gonzalo was captured: it withered away like magic.

The US intelligence agencies have been making a grave mistake in outsourcing the hunt for Bin Laden to Pakistan. Pakistan's intelligence agency, the ISI, described as a state inside a state, is supremely infiltrated by Islamist radicals. That is why when Bill Clinton struck Bin Laden when he was in Afghanistan, Bin Laden had already shifted. Because Bill Clinton made the mistake of first telling Pakistan that he was going to hit Bin Laden because Bin Laden had been located. That information got passed onto Bin Laden. Some top dude in the ISI passed that info to Bin Laden.

Why would you want to repeat that mistake?

That is short term. But in the long term we are looking at a scenario of saying Musharraf has to go, the Saudi king has to go, Mubarak has to go, Gaddafi has to go. Hello democracy.

Bin Laden tries to recruit disenchanted Muslim youth living in the west. Why don't progressive organizations in a place like New York City try to recruit Arabs immigrants locally to try and ignite democracy movements in the Arab countries? Beats me. You might not do it if it is a democracy issue, but will you do it if it is a security issue? Because it is.

Hillary seems to think no Musharraf means the nuclear Pakistan goes down the Islamist radical route. That is wrong thinking. Musharraf has to be pushed out and the democrats in Pakistan have to take over.

Progressives in NYC need to approach the 40,000 Nepalis in the city and say, we want you to have voting rights in this city's elections because you do pay your utility bills. And now teach us and teach the Arab immigrants from those many Arab countries how to ignite nonviolent, grassroots democracy movements in their countries.

In The News

Rivals swipe at Clinton during debate Los Angeles Times The event was broadcast on MSNBC and a video replay is available here. A review of the debate by Times television critic Paul Brownfield is available here. ..... "We've got to stop companies going into bankruptcy in order to get rid of their pension responsibilities." ...... Obama seemed annoyed by questions about his foreign policy speech last week, in which he raised the specter of launching attacks in Pakistan. ..... Obama answered: "You obviously didn't read my speech."
Clinton, Obama targets in lively Dem debate Seattle Times Obama rebuked as irresponsible on foreign policy and Clinton accused of being too cozy with corporate America and Washington, D.C., lobbyists. ..... those attacking him had helped authorize the Iraq war, which he called "the biggest foreign-policy disaster in our generation." ...... The debate was the most animated of the year for the Democrats and reflected that the battle for the party's nomination may be entering a more contentious phase. .... she hopes to stay above the fray as long as she can. .... Edwards .. saying he has walked picket lines and rallied with workers 200 times in the past few years. ....... "I find it amusing that those who helped to authorize and engineer the biggest foreign-policy disaster in our generation are now criticizing me for making sure that we are on the right battlefield and not the wrong battlefield in the war against terrorism." ..... Clinton jumped in to say that while Obama's policy may be sound, "you should not always say everything you think if you're running for president, because it has consequences across the world."
Rivals Aim at Clinton Wall Street Journal
'Inequality worsening in China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka' Hindu
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Wal-Mart sees surge in India sourcing Reuters
Musharraf: Don't talk about attacking Pakistan
Los Angeles Times At the CNN/YouTube debate a few weeks ago, Obama said he'd meet with purported enemies like Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro. And yet Tuesday night he would not commit to meeting with Barry Bonds. ..... a competition to see which candidate could whip the crowd into the loudest frenzy. ..... it is kind of the revenge of the little guy on TV, from the ongoing fascination with "American Idol" to this presidential season. If TV is guilty of covering the campaign money race like it’s the weekly box office report out of Hollywood, the medium also seems, in these pre-pre-pre-primary forums, to be positioning itself as a bridge between the candidates and the public’s widespread disaffection with the process. ........ “…I don’t know about you," Obama said to Dodd, "but for us to authorize [war in] the place where the people who attacked 3,000 Americans were not present, which you authorized, and then to suggest that somehow we should not focus on the folks that did … is a problem.” ...... If you’re scoring at home, he was cheered, she was jeered.
President cancels visit to Kabul PakTribune.com
US surprised by Musharraf's snub of Afghan meeting with Karzai International Herald Tribune
Obama turns to his favorite weapons
Chicago Sun-Times two central campaign themes to inoculate himself against criticism: blaming Washington insiders and stressing his early objection to the Iraq war. ...... Clinton hit Obama in the belly over Obama getting trapped recently in answering a hypothetical question about a nuclear attack on Pakistan and announcing that he would, if there were actionable intelligence, send a U.S. strike force into Pakistan to root out terrorists. ..... Without naming Obama, she said it was a "very big mistake" to "telegraph" his Pakistan move and ...... "destabilize the Musharraf regime which is fighting for its life."Clinton earned boos for saying what was on her mind about Obama. "You can think big, but remember you shouldn't always say everything you think if you're running for president, because it has consequences across the world.'' ...... he misspoke when he called the leader of Canada a "president." Canada's leader is a prime minister.
Analysis: Clinton, Obama Fend Off Rivals Washington Post
Obama and Hillary clash over US military strikes in Pak
Hindu
Clinton-Obama battle flares up over foreign policy Newsday
Barack Obama hits back in Pakistan row Times of India Obama defended his statement last week that he would be prepared to order strikes against Al-Qaida in lawless tribal areas in Pakistan, if President Pervez Musharraf did not act first. ..... "I find it amusing that those who helped to authorise and engineer the biggest foreign policy disaster in our generation are now criticising me," Obama said ..... "I don't believe people running for president should engage in hypotheticals," she said, while admitting an attack might be merited on the basis of actionable intelligence. .... "I think it is a very big mistake to telegraph that, and to destabilise the Musharraf regime which is fighting for its life against the Islamist extremists who are in bed with Al-Qaida and (the) Taliban."
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Guiliani given headache as daughter supports Obama's Presidential bid Independent
Giuliani's daughter backs Obama Times of India
Clinton In Democrats' Sights At Debate
U.S. News & World Report
Giuliani Says He Can Beat Clinton/Obama Ticket Newsroom America
Hillary Clinton: It's the mortgage lending industry, stupid Salon
Clinton on rising home foreclosures MSNBC
Clinton urges tougher rules for lenders MSNBC

Rivals swipe at Clinton during debate Los Angeles Times Hoping to cut into her widening lead, top-tier Democratic presidential candidates used a testy debate here Tuesday to cast New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as beholden to powerful Washington lobbyists and too compromised to revamp healthcare and make changes the party wants to see once George W. Bush leaves office. ........ in an eight-person field, she is drawing support from nearly a majority of voters. ..... Clinton professed bemusement and said it was poor tactics for Democrats to fight among themselves. Yet at another point, she chided Obama for a speech last week in which he said that as president he might take military action inside Pakistan, a U.S. ally, to root out terrorists. ....... "for 15 years, I have stood up against the right-wing machine and I've come out stronger. So if you want a winner who knows how to take them on, I'm your girl." ..... attended by about 17,000 union members ....... The event was broadcast on MSNBC and a video replay is available here. ...... A review of the debate by Times television critic Paul Brownfield is available here. ... Edwards seemed especially intent on rattling the front-runner.
Musharraf Pulls Out of Peace Council Forbes
Musharraf: Don't talk about attacking Pakistan Los Angeles Times
'Inequality worsening in China, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka' Hindu
Rudy Giuliani's daughter comes out for Obama Guardian Unlimited
Obama turns to his favorite weapons
Chicago Sun-Times
Clinton, Obama targets in lively Dem debate Seattle Times
Analysis: Clinton and Obama fend off Edwards and other rivals in ... International Herald Tribune
Guiliani given headache as daughter supports Obama's Presidential bid Independent
Clinton In Democrats' Sights At Debate
U.S. News & World Report
Giuliani Says He Can Beat Clinton/Obama Ticket Newsroom America
Clinton-Obama battle flares up over foreign policy
Newsday
Barack Obama hits back in Pakistan row Times of India
Obama attacked over remarks on Pakistan during US Democratic People's Daily Online
Hillary Clinton: It's the mortgage lending industry, stupid
Salon
Clinton on rising home foreclosures MSNBC
Clinton urges tougher rules for lenders MSNBC












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