E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSChairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry spoke to reporters off-camera after the Democratic Policy lunch this afternoon expressing concern about a further deterioration of U.S.- Pakistani relations in the wake of the bin Laden killing.
Kerry said he spoke to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last night, and they talked about trying to leverage this moment into hitting a "reset" button between the two countries.
"We have to be thoughtful about trying to make lemonade out of lemons," he said. He added, "If you want a radical Islamist government having possession of nuclear weapons and running Pakistan, then you can go off in a knee-jerk way that makes matters worse. I'm not making matters worse. And I think we have to be very thoughtful about this.”
Kerry said he was in no way defending the Pakistanis, but he said their cooperation was crucial in being able to track the couriers and survey the compound.
"We just got Osama bin Laden,” he said, emphatically. “And one of the reasons we got him is because we had intelligence people, who were there and able to do the work. If we lose that, then you put America at greater risk in my judgment, so I'd be very careful."
Kerry, who traveled to Pakistan in February to try to negotiate the release of CIA contactor Raymond Davis, said the hostility at that moment "was as high and as tense as I've ever seen it." He said the relationship has been at its "low ebb" in the last few months.
On whether the administration should release a photo of bin Laden, Kerry said it would be "premature."
“Frankly, there's a lot of evidence that there's a pretty broad acceptance that he's dead,” Kerry said, “and I think the facts of this case are pretty compelling, so i think its premature”
He said he had not personally seen the bin Laden photos, but they have been described to him in detail, and they are “graphic.”
Leave a Comment:
You know dam well they lied to us ... stop the money and walk away !Why is it so hard for these guys to see a slap in the face after it has happened 5 times !
How about a stern, "Give me your nukes, then I'll give you the money" sorta deal. They are far to unstable to have those kinds of weapons.
Say it isn't so - this is a really bad situation. If President Obama couldn't confide to the Pakistani's that we were going in there, then something has gone terribly terribly wrong. Evidently terrorists were being tipped off in the past by the Pakistani's when they got word we were going after them and the terrorists left the area. So President Obama had zero confidence in them keeping their mouths shut.
Will we ever get the truth of bin Laden's hide-out I wonder. Will anyone 'fess up over there that they knew of this house? As Rachel reported last night, the Bush Admin. more or less shut down their operations into trying to find bin Laden. So what does bin Laden do?
Why, he builds himself a house.
File the photo's away. For good.
That's right (say it isn't so) just spit in their eye and so what if it means our CIA operatives can no longer operate in that country and all "back door channels that may have been so helpul are slammed shut...screw 'em! This is the kind of knee jerk, cowboy, attitude that got us into all these messes in the first place. I prefer the grownup, long range view, with consideration of all possibilitiies and consequences - that resulted in this stunning victory.
I bet we built that house Pat !
Sure let's flush a few more billion down that toilet of a country Kerry you moron! How about we continue aid anfter they give up their nukes. Pakistan will NEVER be stable enough to be a responsible nuclear state.
He was living in a three story, million dollar mansion, 800 yards from the Pakastani West Point. The residents of the area are primarily retired Pakastani military officers. There were walls surrounded by walls surrounded by walls covered with barbed wire. No phones, internet and the man burned his garbage rather than taking it out. There was security all over this compund. The home sttod out like a sore thumb in it's size and opulance. No one questioned it. Please tell me how you make lemonade out of this. Your fear is that Pakistan has nukes. My fear is that Pakistan has nukes and is sharing intelligence with Al Queda. Since we've caught them red handed so to speak, this is the time to lay down the law to this government and tell them we will no longer tolerate their deception. It"s not the time to make nice.
Isn't diplomacy fun?
So, Senator Kerry, which do you think - Is Pakistan for us, or against us?
Obama didn't tell the Pakistanis, JoAnna...
He didn't tell them.
He knew.
And...bin Laden's dead.
Stone cold, sleep with the fishes, dead.
That's a good thing...sublimely good.
So...
While I rarely (make that almost NEVER) agree with Senator Kerry (I enjoyed voting against him in '04)...
I just love realpolitik.
And...
A little realpolitik with regard to Pakistan sounds good to me.
Imperial Rome ended and so should this ...we don't need to control the world ..history does repeat itself ! We are seeing it unfold before our own eyes !
There is a part of me that wants to say---screw 'em, pull all our aid and walk away from them. But we don't want to leave a vacuum there and have the region further destabilized so we are stuck with them.
I agree with John Kerry. Pakistan just received a good embarrassing bitch slap, but in the long run, we need them as an ally. He's spot-on with the nukes. This is not the same as dealing with Iraq or Afghanistan, when it really didn't matter who we pissed off. We need to be very careful here.
Our actions speak for themselves; the world now has doubts about Pakistan. Let's allow this situation to simmer for a while and see what happens.
Wonderful article by Rushdie. Thanks for the link
Iraq did NOT have nukes, did NOT shelter Bid Laden. It was invaded and its government overthrown.
All along Pakistan DOES have nukes, DID sheltered Bin Laden, and and is called an ally of the US.
Extreme solution. Create a slow, deliberate strategy of declaring the Taliban to be the legitimate government of Pakistan. Then move accordingly.
Sen Kerry's claim that he hasn't seen pics that are all over the internet is just another reason to doubt the veracity of anything he says about Pakistan or our foreign policy.
Salman Rushdie is more on point;
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-02/salman-rushdie-pakistans-deadly-game/
and makes a lot more sense...
Anyone who saw the HBO documentary on the Mumbai attacks had to wonder about Pakistan.
The fact that President Obama took out Osama bin Laden under Pakistan's radar and, without their knowledge or consent, despite the risks involved in launching such an operation within the borders of a sovereign nation, let alone an ally, speaks volumes.
I'm a cynical guy.
Milk the Pakistanis for everything they're worth.
Press the advantage.
Make lemonade.
The pictures on the internet are frauds - and everyone knows that. The government has not released them. It sounds like Kerry likely COULD ask to see the real photos, but has taken the descriptions of people in the administration.