We have a difficult situation in Pakistan. I believe that part of the reason we have a difficult situation is because we made a bad judgment going into Iraq in the first place when we hadn't finished the job of hunting down bin Laden and crushing al Qaeda. So what happened was we got distracted, we diverted resources, and ultimately bin Laden escaped, set up base camps in the mountains of Pakistan in the northwest provinces there. ...
But I do believe that we have to change our policies with Pakistan. We can't coddle, as we did, a dictator, give him billions of dollars, and then he's making peace treaties with the Taliban and militants. What I have said is we're going encourage democracy in Pakistan, expand our non-military aid to Pakistan so that they have more of a stake in working with us, but insisting that they go after these militants.
And if we have Osama bin Laden in our sights and the Pakistani government is unable or unwilling to take them out, then I think that we have to act, and we will take them out.
Most Popular in Slog
-
Seattle’s Police Union Contract Had a Rough Day in Court by Lester Black
-
Slog PM: Amazon Can't Settle for Just One HQ2, Facebook's Seattle Workforce Keeps Growing, Pete the Gorilla Is Dead by Nathalie Graham
-
Randy Rainbow: Vote, Bish by Dan Savage
-
No Matter What Happens on Election Day, Washington Races Prove Democrats Should Run Everywhere by Rich Smith
-
Failed Senate Candidate Kicked Out of Taco Bar After Gun Rights Rally at UW by Nathalie Graham
-
The Stranger Crashes a Big Gay Birthday Brunch in Capitol Hill It's our party crashin' column! by Chase Burns
-
Slog AM: Drop That Ballot Like It's Hot, Seattle; Yes, It Is Legal to Take Selfies with It First by Michael Bell
