Exhibit A (last August) (Reuters):
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States must be willing to strike al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, adopting a tough tone after a chief rival accused him of naivete in foreign policy.
Obama's stance comes amid debate in Washington over what to do about a resurgent al Qaeda and Taliban in areas of northwest Pakistan that President Pervez Musharraf has been unable to control, and concerns that new recruits are being trained there for a September 11-style attack against the United States.
"If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will," Obama said.
Exhibit B (from MSNBC):
It’s slightly counter-intuitive that Obama could sound more hawkish than McCain, but when it comes to Pakistan, that may be the case. Last night at his Wisconsin victory speech in Columbus, Ohio, McCain came out swinging against what he perceives as the Illinois senator’s naiveté of international affairs and world events.
...
"The first thing you do is you don’t tell people what you’re going to do; you make plans, and you work with the other country that is your ally and friend, which Pakistan is."
Exhibit C (this week) :
"WASHINGTON — American Special Operations forces ... carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.
...
The new orders reflect concern about safe havens for Al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, as well as an American view that Pakistan lacks the will and ability to combat militants. They also illustrate lingering distrust of the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies and a belief that some American operations had been compromised once Pakistanis were advised of the details." |
