Chris Dodd,slams the Bush administration for having created the present problem in Pakistan



"I think the mistake began some time ago when we decided we were going to engage in the war of choice in Iraq and not the war that needed to be waged more aggressively, and that is in Afghanistan, against global terrorism of Osama bin Laden. Thus you reach the point where we did, in a declaration of a state of emergency occurring. At this juncture we've got to work with this. But we had better do it aggressively." Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Dominican Republic in the 1960's.

Chris Dodd,slams the Bush administration for having created the present problem in Pakistan

'Bush administration responsible for Pak crisis'

5 Nov 2007, 0841 hrs IST,PTI

WASHINGTON: Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, who is seeking the party nomination for the Presidential election in 2008, slammed the Bush administration for having created the present problem in Pakistan.

"... this is a tremendous problem. And obviously, we've got to keep working with Musharraf. I join others who are condemning this action of declaring (Pakistan) a state of Emergency and suspending the constitution," Dodd said during a TV interview.

"This is a problem created by this administration. This was loading up Musharraf with too much for him to probably carry as a result of our sort of withdrawing from Afghanistan, or at least not putting the kind of emphasis on Afghanistan after 9/11 that we should have," he said.

"I think the mistake began some time ago when we decided we were going to engage in the war of choice in Iraq and not the war that needed to be waged more aggressively, and that is in Afghanistan, against global terrorism of Osama bin Laden. Thus you reach the point where we did, in a declaration of a state of emergency occurring. At this juncture we've got to work with this. But we had better do it aggressively," Dodd said.

The senior Democratic law maker was asked if he would start putting some pressure on President Musharraf, for example, by reducing US military and/or economic assistance.

"That is something you should consider. Obviously, at this point, you need to make sure that the country is not going to fall apart. And so, working with him to find out how we can move from the position he has put himself in today to a more open process that allows a coalition government to emerge," he replied.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: November, 2007; RPCV Chris Dodd (Dominican Republic); Figures; Peace Corps Dominican Republic; Directory of Dominican Republic RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Dominican Republic RPCVs; Politics; Congress; Peace Corps Pakistan; Directory of Pakistan RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Pakistan RPCVs; Connecticut

When this story was posted in November 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:




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