Posted by
Boris Tiraspolsky on Tuesday, February 17, 2009 1:14:48 AM
"President Obama is not a mentally retarded person! He even knows what an enigmatic abbreviation “the FATA region of Pakistan” is."
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President Obama says - Boris Tiraspolsky comments
There are generally two types of questions. One is to learn something new. Another one is to examine someone. There is a third type specifically invented by the White House preselected reporters: question that contains a ready answer. Read the question below, please.
Question: Mr. President, do you think that Pakistan and -- are maintaining the safe havens in Afghanistan for these so-called terrorists?
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky: This question could be directed to someone who is either mentally retarded, or by a some reason has never read newspapers, watched television, listen to a radio, or used the Internet in the duration of the last seven years, at least.
President Obama: Well, I think that Pakistan -- there is no doubt that, in the FATA region of Pakistan, in the mountainous regions along the border of Afghanistan, that there are safe havens where terrorists are operating.
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky: President Obama is not a mentally retarded person! He even knows what an enigmatic abbreviation “the FATA region of Pakistan” is. Frankly, I did not know that. So, I learned something knew here: FATA means the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan bordering Afghanistan. Alas! That was the only new thing I learned from the president Obama’s answer.
President Obama (continues): And one of the goals of Ambassador Holbrooke, as he is traveling throughout the region, is to deliver a message to Pakistan that they are endangered as much as we are by the continuation of those operations and that we've got to work in a regional fashion to root out those safe havens.
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky: Now, I have my question to president Obama. What have the U.S. Military and the NATO been doing out there for the last seven years? Haven’t they tried “to root out those save havens”?
President Obama (continues): It's not acceptable for Pakistan or for us to have folks who, with impunity, will kill innocent men, women and children. And, you know, I -- I believe that the new government of Pakistan and -- and Mr. [President Asif Ali] Zardari cares deeply about getting control of the situation. We want to be effective partners with them on that issue.
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky: I understand that “we want to be effective partners” with Pakistan. The similar line I heard from president Obama about Iran, too. However, the problem is whether the governments of Pakistan, Iran and other Islamic States sincerely want the same. I got lost here. And it seems that I was not the only one who got lost at that point.
Question: (off mic)
President Obama (continues): Well, Mr. Holbrooke is there, and that's exactly why he's being sent there, because I think that we have to make sure that Pakistan is a stalwart ally with us in battling this terrorist threat.
Comment by Boris Tiraspolsky: The above statement by president Obama is an example of a lack of coherent international policy. I want to remind that the recent change of the government in Pakistan happened primarily because the old Pakistani Administration was “battling this terrorist threat“ as a close ally with the United States. Now
Pakistan Agrees to Enforce Islamic Law in Swat Valley. Therefore, will Pakistan that supports Taliban in the FATA region continue to be “a stalwart ally with us“ remains to be a big question. Why didn’t president Obama tell us the truth, then?
Ideology of Anti-Terrorism is