I am still reeling over Barack Obama's declaration that he would unilaterally use force to pursue terrorists in Pakistan if Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani authorities did not cooperate. Imagine if some other foreign leader made a similar declaration that his country would use force to pursue some criminal or terrorist operating within the United States! How would Americans feel about that? Not kindly, to be sure.
So Munir Ahmad writes for the Associate Press today:
"Pakistan criticized U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes against terrorists hiding in this Islamic country.
"Top Pakistan officials said Obama's comment was irresponsible and likely made for political gain in the race for the Democratic nomination.
""It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri told AP Television News."
As I have indicated in a previous post, I have contributed to Obama's campaign. But after this gaffe, I need to take a hard look at why I felt Obama was my candidate. Making a statement like this is almost inexcusable, something akin to foolishly saying that Iran is the "enemy."
Juan Cole writes today in his Informed Comment:
"It is highly undesirable for a presidential candidate to spark this sort of reaction in a country allied with the US. In my view, the episode derives from inexperience on foreign policy and from bad advice from campaign managers and speech writers.
"The question is, can Obama repair the damage or was this the moment when the Democratic grassroots decided he is not ready for prime time?"
So Munir Ahmad writes for the Associate Press today:
"Pakistan criticized U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday for saying that, if elected, he might order unilateral military strikes against terrorists hiding in this Islamic country.
"Top Pakistan officials said Obama's comment was irresponsible and likely made for political gain in the race for the Democratic nomination.
""It's a very irresponsible statement, that's all I can say," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khusheed Kasuri told AP Television News."
As I have indicated in a previous post, I have contributed to Obama's campaign. But after this gaffe, I need to take a hard look at why I felt Obama was my candidate. Making a statement like this is almost inexcusable, something akin to foolishly saying that Iran is the "enemy."
Juan Cole writes today in his Informed Comment:
"It is highly undesirable for a presidential candidate to spark this sort of reaction in a country allied with the US. In my view, the episode derives from inexperience on foreign policy and from bad advice from campaign managers and speech writers.
"The question is, can Obama repair the damage or was this the moment when the Democratic grassroots decided he is not ready for prime time?"
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