Source: Daily Times

* Obama vows to attack Taliban and Al Qaeda if Pakistan is unwilling to do so
* McCain stresses working with Islamabad, says support from Pakistani people necessary, not prepared to cut off aid

By Khalid Hasan

NEW YORK: Barack Obama may have lost not only his first debate with Sen John McCain but also the Pakistani-American vote, which so far he was widely expected to get, given what came across as unsympathetic remarks about Pakistan and possible unilateral military strikes in certain situations.

While McCain came out as supportive of Pakistan and sensitive to its position and the difficult insurgency it is dealing with, Obama appeared to be otherwise. McCain also took advantage of the fact that he has visited Pakistan’s Tribal Areas and, given his military background, came out as more appreciative of the difficult terrain and the entrenched insurgency there. McCain also admitted that after Afghan freedom fighters drove the Russians out of Afghanistan, “we basically washed our hands off the region. And the result over time was the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and a lot of the difficulties being faced today.” Those, he added, are lessons of history that cannot be ignored.

McCain said, “I’m not prepared at this time to cut off aid to Pakistan. So I’m not prepared to threaten it, as Senator Obama apparently wants to do, as he has said that he would announce military strikes into Pakistan. We’ve got to get the support of the people of – of Pakistan. He said that he would launch military strikes into Pakistan. Now, you don’t do that. You don’t say that out loud. If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government.” He pointed out that the new president of Pakistan has “got his hands full”.

McCain mocked Obama for his lack of familiarity with the region, saying, “I’ve been to Waziristan. I can see how tough that terrain is. It’s ruled by a handful of tribes.” He was dismissive of Obama on account of his having called for more troops, adding, “but what he doesn’t understand, it’s got to be a new strategy, the same strategy that he condemned in Iraq. It’s going to have to be employed in Afghanistan. And we’re going to have to help the Pakistanis go into these areas and obtain the allegiance of the people.” He warned that it is going to be ‘tough’. The local tribes have intermarried with Al Qaeda and the Taliban, but “we have to get the co-operation of the people in those areas.” He also stressed that the Pakistanis are going to have to understand that that Marriott hotel bombing was “a signal from the terrorists that they don’t want that government to co-operate with us in combating the Taliban and jihadist elements”. He said Pakistan is a very important element in the new regional strategy, adding, “I know how to work with him. And I guarantee you I would not publicly state that I’m going to attack them.”

Obama denied that he had talked about attacking Pakistan. Clarifying his earlier remarks, he said, “If the United States has Al Qaeda, bin Laden, top-level lieutenants in our sights, and Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act, then we should take them out.” He called the ‘right strategy’, the ‘right policy’. Referring to “cross-border attacks against US troops”, Obama said, “We have to start making some decisions.” Turning to the strategy pursued by Washington for 10 years, he summed it up as “we coddled Musharraf, we alienated the Pakistani population, because we were anti-democratic. We had a 20th-century mindset that basically said, ‘Well, you know, he may be a dictator, but he’s our dictator’.” As a consequence, the US lost legitimacy in Pakistan. “We spent $10 billion. And in the meantime, they weren’t going after Al Qaeda, and they are more powerful now than at any time since we began the war in Afghanistan. That’s going to change when I’m president of the United States.”

McCain replied, “I don’t think that Senator Obama understands that there was a failed state in Pakistan when Musharraf came to power. Everybody who was around then, and had been there, and knew about it knew that it was a failed state.”

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Tags: Aid, al qaeda, America, First Debate, McCain, Obama, Taliban