Obama talks tough on Pakistan. Raises most funds.

Obama seems to be all over the map but this talking out of all sides of the mouth is typical of politicians. One moment he appeals to the anti-war movement, next to the Israeli lobby, and now to the hawks. I guess it must work. Oprah Winfrey is helping him fundraise and he has raised the most funds of any candidate. If I were an American I would be very angry and frustrated with the political situation. Candidates such as Kucinich seem to get nowhere while the likes of Obama and Clinton are at the top of the Democratic polls.

Obama warns over Pakistan strike
US presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he would order military action against al-Qaeda in Pakistan without the consent of Pakistan's government.
Mr Obama made the comments in a speech outlining his foreign policy positions.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said any threat to act against al-Qaeda from within its territory should not be used for political point scoring.

Earlier this month, Mr Obama's chief rival, Hillary Clinton, described him as "naive" on foreign policy.

The attack from Mrs Clinton came after a televised debate between Democrat presidential hopefuls.

During the debate Mr Obama said he would be willing to meet leaders of states such as Cuba, North Korea and Iran without conditions.

'Terrible mistake'

In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, Mr Obama said General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, must do more to end terrorist operations in his country.


If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will
Barack Obama

If not, Pakistan would risk a troop invasion and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid during an Obama presidency, the candidate said.

"It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an al-Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005," he said, referring to reports that the US had decided not to launch a strike for fear of harming ties with Pakistan.

"If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will," Mr Obama said.


The BBC's Jonathan Beale, in Washington, says such comments are clearly designed to bolster his credentials among a domestic audience.

But a spokeswoman for Pakistan's foreign ministry, Tasnim Aslam, told the AFP news agency that talk of military action was a serious matter and political candidates and commentators should "show responsibility".

White House spokesman Tony Snow defended Pakistan's leadership, saying it was working hard to fight al-Qaeda and Taleban fighters within its borders.

Gen Musharraf has been a key US ally in its so-called "war on terror" since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks.

But US officials have publicly said recently that they believe Pakistan has let al-Qaeda and Taleban militants reorganise themselves in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Mr Obama also used his foreign policy speech to criticise the Bush administration's focus on al-Qaeda in Iraq, saying US President George W Bush was "confusing" the mission.

He said Americans were more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than before the 9/11 attacks because of a war in Iraq "that should never have been authorised and should never have been waged".

Story from BBC NEWS:

Iraq parliament recesses for August

This move will infuriate the US or at least some of the American public but it certainly was expected. There was not even a quorum. The oil law is not yet in form that could be passed so it will not be introduced until there is more negotiation behind the scenes. Perhaps the privatisation of refineries was a sop to the Americans to compensate for the lack of passing the oil law.


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Article published Jul 31, 2007
Iraq lawmakers recess, fault al-Maliki for 'nothing' to do


July 31, 2007


ASSOCIATED PRESS - BAGHDAD — Iraq's parliament yesterday shrugged off U.S. criticism and adjourned for a month, as key lawmakers declared there is no point waiting any longer for the prime minister to deliver Washington-demanded benchmark legislation for their vote.

Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani closed the final three-hour session without a quorum present and declared lawmakers will not reconvene until Sept. 4.

That date is just 11 days before the top U.S. military and political officials in Iraq must report to Congress on U.S. progress in taming violence and organizing conditions for sectarian reconciliation.

The recess, coupled with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's failure to get the key draft laws before legislators, may nourish growing opposition to the war among U.S. lawmakers, who could refuse to continue to fund it.

Critics questioned how Iraqi legislators can take a summer break while U.S. forces are fighting and dying to create conditions under which important laws could be passed toward ending sectarian political divisions and bloodshed.

But in leaving parliament, many lawmakers blamed Mr. al-Maliki.

"Even if we sit next month, there's no guarantee that important business will be done," said Mahmoud Othman, a prominent Kurdish legislator. The parliament extended its session by a month, having initially planned a recess for July and August.

"There are Iraqi-Iraqi and Iraqi-American differences that have not been resolved," Mr. Othman said of the benchmark legislation. "The government throws the ball in our court, but we say that it is in the government's court and that of the politicians. They sent us nothing [to debate or vote on]."

The September reports by Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker and U.S. commander Gen. David H. Petraeus are to assess progress by the Iraqi government and its security forces on 18 political and security benchmarks.

Those include a so-called "oil law" that would set rules for foreign investment and the fair distribution of revenue to all of Iraq's sects and ethnic groups.

"We gave the government a good chance by continuing to sit in July. We can still return for an emergency session if that's required, but I don't think that this is necessary because the draft legislation is not complete," said Salem Abdullah, spokesman for the Iraqi Accordance Front, the key Sunni bloc in parliament.

In Washington, the State Department was unusually silent on the matter, declining to criticize the lawmakers for the break.

"There's a lot of work to be done in Iraq," deputy spokesman Tom Casey said. "I'll leave it to the parliamentary leaders themselves to explain why this might be a good time to take a break."

Meanwhile, Mr. al-Maliki faces a revolt within his party by factions that want to oust him as Iraq's leader, said officials in his office and the political party he leads.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Mr. al-Maliki's predecessor, leads the challenge and already approached leaders of the country's two main Kurdish parties, parliament's two Sunni Arab blocs and lawmakers loyal to powerful Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Mr. al-Jaafari's campaign, the officials said, is based on his concern that Mr. al-Maliki's policies led Iraq into turmoil because the prime minister was doing too little to promote national reconciliation.

Also yesterday, a small bus exploded in a central Baghdad market district, killing at least six persons — a brutal reminder of the dangers facing Iraqis who celebrated in the streets by the tens of thousands Sunday night after their national team won the prestigious Asian Cup soccer tournament.

At least 31 persons were wounded, according to the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information.

A total of 42 Iraqis were killed or found dead nationwide, according to police, hospital and morgue officials.

The U.S. military said three soldiers were killed in fighting in Anbar province west of Baghdad on Thursday.



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