Hillary Clinton isn't speaking softly on her trip to Pakistan: In an interview with Pakistani journalists, the secretary of State took an unusually blunt stance on Pakistan's stance on al Qaeda. Regarding al Qaeda leaders believed to be living within Pakistan's borders, Clinton said, "I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are and couldn't get them if they really wanted to." She then backed up and took a more diplomatic stance: "Maybe that's the case. Maybe they're not gettable. I don't know." The journalist had asked Clinton why America's war on terrorism focused so heavily on Pakistan. After pointing out that Indonesia, the Philippines, and other nations have suffered from al Qaeda's presence, Clinton said "the world has an interest in seeing the capture and killing of the people who are masterminds of this terrorist syndicate. As far as we know, they are in Pakistan." Clinton remained stalwart in this position at a town hall-style meeting at a Lahore university, but acknowledged that a student question about America's trustworthiness after its late-'80s abandonment of Afghanistan was "fair criticism."
CHEAT SHEET
TOP 10 RIGHT NOW
- 1
- 2
- 4
- 5
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10