The Osama/Pakistan Flip-Flop

For the record, here’s what Chimpy said last Friday on the subject of entering Pakistan in order to capture Osama bin Laden.

Q Thank you, Mr. President. Earlier this week, you told a group of journalists that you thought the idea of sending special forces to Pakistan to hunt down bin Laden was a strategy that would not work.

THE PRESIDENT: Yes.

Q Now, recently you’ve also —

THE PRESIDENT: Because, first of all, Pakistan is a sovereign nation.

Q Well, recently you’ve also described bin Laden as a sort of modern day Hitler or Mussolini. And I’m wondering why, if you can explain why you think it’s a bad idea to send more resources to hunt down bin Laden, wherever he is?

THE PRESIDENT: We are, Richard. Thank you. Thanks for asking the question. They were asking me about somebody’s report, well, special forces here — Pakistan — if he is in Pakistan, as this person thought he might be, who is asking the question — Pakistan is a sovereign nation. In order for us to send thousands of troops into a sovereign nation, we’ve got to be invited by the government of Pakistan.

Andhere is CNN’s coverage of his reversal during his interview with Howitzer Explosionguy.

President Bush said Wednesday he would order U.S. forces to go after Osama bin Laden inside Pakistan if he received good intelligence on the fugitive al Qaeda leader’s location.

“Absolutely,” Bush said.

The president made the comments Wednesday in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

Although Pakistan has said it won’t allow U.S. troops to operate within its territory, “we would take the action necessary to bring him to justice.”

But Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, told reporters Wednesday at the United Nations that his government would oppose any U.S. action in its territory.

“We wouldn’t like to allow that at all. We will do it ourselves,” he said.

2 thoughts on “The Osama/Pakistan Flip-Flop

  1. Help me out here: “In order for us to send thousands of troops into a sovereign nation, we’ve got to be invited by the government of Pakistan.”
    So Does this mean that Iraq wasn’t a sovereign nation? -or- Iraq was a sovereign nation and Pakistan invited us in?

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