"Clinton speaks on Af-Pak strategy"

[Clio the Leo]

Clinton speaks on Af-Pak strategy
By MATT NEGRIN | 12/01/09 11:58 AM

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the Obama administration's approach to Afghanistan and Pakistan will require new contributions from the Pakistani government to stabilize the region.

“We have made a commitment to provide more assistance to Pakistan that is going to be accountable and transparent, but which we hope sends a message to the people of Pakistan that there is a better future, and which holds the government of Pakistan to a different standard than the one that it has met in the past, to try to provide for the energy needs, the education needs, the healthcare needs, economic development needs of that country,” Clinton said in a speech to the group Business Executives for National Security, which presented her with an award.

Clinton said the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan is “directly connected” to the United States’s national security, adding that with a transnational foe like terrorism a “strictly military response can only get us so far.”

“We therefore need a more comprehensive strategy that confronts the extremists themselves as well as the political, economic, and social forces that help to fuel their extremism,” she said.

She also touted the civilian aspect of the administration’s new strategy, saying: “And although I will not go into the specifics of what the president will say tomorrow, let me just mention an area that is particularly applicable to those of you who are part of BENS, namely the civilian component of our mission. Our goals in Afghanistan include providing the government with the support that it needs to take full responsibility for its own country. That makes civilian efforts as vital as military operations and of longer duration. We have begun to elevate diplomacy and development alongside defense in our national security strategy, and we are certainly engaged in doing so in Afghanistan.”

http://www.politico.com/politico44/perm/1209/hrcs_pakistan_preview_3fa9f4b6-bd53-4078-894b-7e581bda49e5.html

[Oregone]

1. "will require new contributions from the Pakistani government"

Oh, that should work out dandy.

[Firstzar]

7. I'm certain they'll cooperate fully!

With whom, well that's another story!

[BeFree]

2. Oh goodie

Not just one or two nation building activities, but three!!

Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

And meanwhile, at home, in the US, .......

[Lord Helmet]

3. with three you get eggroll

[LooseWilly]

4. I was hoping for the side of egg fu yung on a stick...

[orwell]

5. Of course the two are linked...

...Pakistan is the reason the President is escalating in Afghanistan. They are terrified that Pakistani nuclear weapons will come under control of radical Islamic forces.

[apnu]

6. Who wouldn't be terrified of that? (nt)