The speech angered Pakistani officials, already upset by a recent National Intelligence Estimate that concluded Al Qaeda has “regenerated key elements” of its ability to attack the United States in Pakistan’s tribal region of north Waziristan. “I think he is misinformed as far as this goes,” Pakistani Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani told NEWSWEEK. “We want to take out high-value targets whenever we can. This seems to be a favorite topic—hitting Pakistan. It will weaken the position of the government in Pakistan if the Americans go in and hit bad guys, because even now the public feels the government is doing too much for the United States.”
Obama campaign officials insisted that the speech had been planned for months and that the tough talk wasn’t related to his tussle with Hillary Clinton. The New York senator suggested Obama was naive after he declared in a recent debate that he would talk with any of America’s enemies. “This is not a response to Hillary Clinton or anybody else,” says Scott Gration, a Swahili-speaking retired Air Force major general who has emerged as a key Obama adviser (and who recently went to Iowa in an effort to beef up Obama’s national-security credentials). “If you read the speech, it’s reasonable.”
The jostling between Obama and Clinton over who would make a more responsible president goes on. In response to a reporter’s question last week, Obama hesitated before saying that he would never use a nuclear weapon against terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Clinton pounced on that too. “I don’t believe any president should make blanket statements with the regard to use or nonuse” of nukes, she said. Back to you, Barack.
