Home Topics The Hill The Congress Blog The Pundit's Blog GOP Convention Democratic Convention

KEY BLOGS
What they are saying today

Drudge Report
Iran already has enough fuel for one nuclear bomb, according to a New York Times report that leads the Drudge Report. A report that Iran also has increased its uranium stockpile adds to the problems that President-elect Obama will face. ... READ MORE

The Huffington Post
The $25 billion auto bailout is on ice now that Senate leaders have decided to postpone a vote on it, according to the front page of the Post. The country, however, can't let the auto industry collapse because that will ... READ MORE

Townhall.com
President Bush's last-minute abortion rulings are affording doctors who refuse to perform abortions on moral grounds the same kind of protections that conscientious objectors to wars receive, writes Carol Platt Liebau. Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker seems to have become an ... READ MORE

RedState
Tom Daschle, the former Senate Democratic Leader tapped by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as Health and Human Services Secretary, is yet another "un-fresh face" and presents more lobbying conflicts for the incoming administration, writes Pejman Yousefzadeh. Democrat Al Franken's ... READ MORE

The Corner
President-elect Barack Obama faces a dilemma now that he's taking charge and needs to reassure Americans about the same issues he criticized President Bush for handling, writes Victor Davis Hanson. Obama's sudden reliance on former Clintonites in his own administration ... READ MORE

TalkingPointsMemo
It's not reassuring that Citigroup, the nation's second-largest bank, is facing a crisis of confidence from investors now that its losses from credit cards, mortgages and debt are piling up, writes Josh Marshall. Democrat Al Franken picked up a net ... READ MORE

MyDD
The choice of Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) for Homeland Security Secretary in the Obama administration is a gift to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who would have faced a tough challenge from her for his seat in 2010, writes Todd ... READ MORE

Daily Kos
World leaders at the G20 last weekend refused to shake President Bush's hand during a photo opp, writes NewAmericaPatriot, who has the video. The Bush administration's last-minute push for new regulations and to burrow in their civil service appointees will ... READ MORE

The Huffington Post
Three of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) lawyers are vetting her for her possible appointment as secretary of State, notes the front page of the Post. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said that he's interested in doing policy work ... READ MORE

Drudge Report
The soaring costs for President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration could break the bank for Washington, D.C., according to the Drudge Report. In other political links, Drudge highlights reports that Obama has approached Defense Secretary William Gates to stay on, that Obama ... READ MORE

CLICK FOR MORE
SUMMARIES



MORNING READ
MIDDAY BLOG ROUNDUP
DAY'S END ROUND-UP



You need Flash Player 8 (or higher) and JavaScript enabled to view this content

 

CLICK FOR MORE HILLTUBE

Morning Read | Midday Blog Roundup | Day's End Roundup

July 15, 2008

Obama Joins Sens. Biden, Lugar on Bill to Triple Pakistan Aid

@ 11:07 am by Chris Good

Barack Obama will announce today that he is co-sponsoring legislation with Sens. Joe Biden (D-Del.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) that would triple non-military U.S. aid to Pakistan.

Obama will highlight his support for the bill, which will be unveiled this morning, in a speech today on national security.

"We must expect more of the Pakistani government, but we must offer more than a blank check to a General who has lost the confidence of his people," Obama states in excerpts pre-released by the campaign. "It’s time to strengthen stability by standing up for the aspirations of the Pakistani people. That’s why I’m cosponsoring a bill with Joe Biden and Richard Lugar to triple non-military aid to the Pakistani people."

Biden and Lugar will unveil their bill at a news conference this morning. It would authorize $7.5 billion to Pakistan over five years to be used for development purposes such as building schools, roads, and medical clinics. It also calls for "greater accountability on security assistance," according to Biden's office, pushing Pakistan to step up its counterterrorism efforts against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Biden has called for a new approach to U.S.-Pakistani relations, one that seeks to build a relationship with the Pakistan people rather than Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Tripling non-military aid unconditionally, he says, is the first step.

Biden was a leading critic of Obama's Pakistan policy in the early stages of the Democratic primary. The Delaware senator and then-presidential candidate blasted Obama for saying, in an August 2007 speech, that he would attack terrorists in Pakistan with or without its government's consent, if Musharraf failed to act on intelligence.

"It’s not something you talk about," Biden said. "The last thing you want to do is telegraph to the folks in Pakistan plans that threaten their sovereignty."

Biden has since taken on the role of surrogate for Obama's campaign, stumping for Obama in media appearances and promoting Obama's Iraq policy in a conference call with reporters yesterday.

5 Comments »

The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.
  1. Taking the war to Pakistan is perhaps the most foolish thing America can do. Pakistan has 160 million Arabs and a nuclear arsenol. Pakistan also has the support of China. The last thing the United States should do at this point and time is to violate yet another state’s sovereignty.

    Comment by John Maszka — July 18, 2008 @ 4:20 pm

  2. […] also renewed his calls for adjustments to policy to Pakistan, calling for an expansion in non-military aid to Pakistan. Graham Usher says Obama "should be careful what he wishes for," as 90% of […]

    Pingback by Should Obama have gone to Pakistan instead? « John Bracken — July 20, 2008 @ 8:35 pm

  3. John Maszka on July 18, 2008 @ 4:20 pm said "Pakistan has 160 million Arabs". Not all Arabs are Muslims nor all Muslims are Arabs. Pakistan has 97% Muslim population or 165 million Muslims in population of nearly 170 million. In Pakistan we speak Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Balochi, Kashmir, Seraiki, etc. Urdu and English are official languages. Arabic is only taught in religious classes.

    Comment by Arslan Khan — July 31, 2008 @ 4:29 pm

  4. I'm sick of bullshit in comments on websites. There are very, very few Arabs in Pakistan, American already attacks Pakistan, and the connection between Pakistan and China has nothing to do with American policy in the region.

    Comment by Michael Wales — September 12, 2008 @ 5:00 am

  5. Taking the war to Pakistan is also the most unjust and irrational thing the Empire can do. Imperial hubris.

    Comment by nusrat — October 3, 2008 @ 2:51 pm

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment




Privacy Policy
| Terms and Conditions
rss

The contents of this site are © 2008 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc.