WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would possibly send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists, an attempt to show strength when his chief rival has described his foreign policy skills as naive.
The Illinois senator warned Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf that he must do more to shut down terrorist operations in his country and evict foreign fighters under an Obama presidency, or Pakistan will risk a U.S. troop invasion and losing hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid.
“Let me make this clear,” Obama said in a speech prepared for delivery at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. “There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaida leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won’t act, we will.”
Would this be before or after those unconditional meetings he would have with the world’s most despotic ‘leaders’?
In many ways, the speech is counterintuitive; Obama, one of the more liberal candidates in the race, is proposing a geopolitical posture that is more aggressive than that of President Bush. It comes at a time in Obama’s campaign when the freshman senator is drawing more financial support from more voters than any other candidate, though he has yet to vault from his second-place position in the polls. One of the reasons for that is that the Democratic front-runner, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, is seen as more experienced and in some ways stronger, a perspective Obama wishes to change.
The speech, to be delivered at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., seems an attempt by Obama to ramp up his campaign to the next phase, where he hopes to seem not only a youthful idealist, but a president who would pursue a muscular foreign policy and protect the United States from terrorist attack.
Will be interesting to see how this plays with the hardcore anti-war base. Will cries of “chickenhawk” soon follow Senator Obama wherever he goes?
It’s August. I give it another month or two before the mediots start to turn on the O-man - just like they did with Howard Dean. Obama’s seeming invincibility armor is starting to crack.
Update: LOL - Obama the cowboy? Bonus: Obama’s new theme song.
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emocratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday that he would possibly send troops into Pakistan to hunt down terrorists, an
Never underestimate the strength of armor forged from pure hype.
Comment by NeoconNews @ 8/1/2007 - 10:53 am
Thanks for the link, ST.
Obama is just hopelessly naive. I wonder if the tinfoil-hat crowd at YearlyKos will berate him for suggesting such unilateral aggression.
Comment by JammieWearingFool @ 8/1/2007 - 11:07 am
Is he going to deply the troops from Iraq as part of the dimocrats cut & run policy? Let the moonbats all chant Al-ha-akbat.
Comment by Tanzfleck @ 8/1/2007 - 11:17 am
I wonder if the tinfoil-hat crowd at YearlyKos will berate him for suggesting such unilateral aggression.
Jammie, he may be tough on a Muslim ally with nuclear weapons, but when it comes to the Moonbat collective, he’ll fold up like a lawn chair in a hurricane. I’m sure he’s already done something to placate them. Maybe reiterated his stand against debating on Fox News.
Obama: Tough on Pakistan, afraid of Kos and Fox.
Comment by Great White Rat @ 8/1/2007 - 11:58 am
You are on MM today ST.
Comment by Baklava @ 8/1/2007 - 12:12 pm
Now who is using 9/11 to scare the American people Barak?? Who is using 9/11 to justify premptive strikes into foreign countries?? This double speak is going to kill Barak. I keep saying Barak is nothing more than an empty suit full of Democrat group think. Now that he “thinking” for himself he is showing that he just ain’t ready for the big league. - Lorica
Comment by Lorica @ 8/1/2007 - 1:32 pm
Comment by Sister Toldjah @ 8/1/2007 - 2:24 pm
Must be that ‘change in direction’ they keep talking about……
Out of Iraq and into Pakistan.
Comment by sanity @ 8/1/2007 - 2:37 pm
That, folks is the Understatement of the Week.
I suppose, though, that ABC couldn’t just write “In many ways, the speech would be better written on a sandwich board worn by an unwashed crazy man screaming on a streetcorner”. Kind of a shame. That’s analysis I’d actually read.
There’s so much there that’s just….argh! My head can’t contain the overwhelming amount of “WHAT??” Obama shoved into that speech.
Comment by Jimmie @ 8/1/2007 - 2:43 pm
Obama has no plan for getting us out of Pakistan or keeping the peace in Pakistan….
Comment by Baklava @ 8/1/2007 - 3:03 pm
Appreciate the link, btw.
Comment by NeoconNews @ 8/1/2007 - 3:18 pm
From what I have seen so far the lefties are saying that this is not a real invasion Obama is talking about, it is sort of a pretend invasion. Not at all the same thing. Really.
Comment by Terrye @ 8/1/2007 - 3:45 pm
this is not a real invasion Obama is talking about, it is sort of a pretend invasion.
A “pretend invasion”? Exactly what’s that? Is that where Obama would have a State Department delegation gather at the border with megaphones and demand that al-Qaeda give themselves up right now or else we’ll send the dreaded Really-Strongly-Worded-NoKidding-We’re-Annoyed protest note to the United Nations? Yeah, that’ll terrify Osama, all right.
Comment by Great White Rat @ 8/1/2007 - 4:03 pm
GWR, Well then, it won’t be an invasion that breeds more hatred of the U.S. then huh? Since it is fake - Islamists will grow in love for the U.S. and nobody will die and nothing will be accomplished.
Comment by Baklava @ 8/1/2007 - 4:46 pm
Riehl world view said in part:
So TRUE !
Comment by Baklava @ 8/1/2007 - 4:54 pm
Heheh! You guys are crackin’ me up today.
I wonder if this has hurt O’s chances of being the VP selection for Hillary …
Comment by Sister Toldjah @ 8/1/2007 - 5:05 pm
Where’s the Outrage?! Obama says he would attack a sovereign nation’s territory if their President didn’t follow our orders? U.S. Imperialism! Where’s Cindy Sheehan when we need her? Pakistan is our friend!
Comment by Tom TB @ 8/1/2007 - 5:43 pm
Sure, Obama, but do you have an exit strategy for Pakistan?!?!?
Comment by NC Cop @ 8/1/2007 - 7:26 pm
Barrack Hussein Obama is another clear example of the problem with the *Wannabe’s*.
Comment by forest hunter @ 8/1/2007 - 10:26 pm
Perhaps the unelectable Shrillary and this genius can fetch water bottles, while the other pathetic dhimmicRats continue eating each other.
Stick a fork in’im!……. just how does one tell the difference between toasted well and a burnt poptart…after fifteen minutes, it’s blacker than the bottom of the sea.
Comment by forest hunter @ 8/1/2007 - 10:43 pm
Wow! Lotta trackbacks on this ‘un.
As for Barack (Hussein) Obama being tough, ever:
Comment by camojack @ 8/2/2007 - 1:30 am
I think Obama attended the George Costanza School of Foreign Policy. Their philosophy is “think about what you think would be best to do in any situation and do the opposite”.
He really stepped on his wanker with this speech.
Comment by CHRIS @ 8/2/2007 - 12:48 pm