Obama again backs strikes inside Pakistan

He denounced McCain for proposing bombing of Iran. “Sen McCain, this is the guy who sang, “Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran,” who called for the annihilation of North Korea. That I don’t think is an example of “speaking softly. This is the person who, after we had - we hadn’t even finished Afghanistan, where he said, “Next up, Baghdad.”

Obama also stated that the popular opinion of America “had diminished in Pakistan was because we were supporting a dictator, Musharraf, and had given him $10 billion over seven years, and he had suspended civil liberties. We were not promoting democracy. This is the kind of policies that ultimately end up undermining our ability to fight the war on terrorism, and it will change when I’m president”.

For his part, McCain rejected Obama’s salvo on his Iran bombing idea as untrue and assured the Americans that he will get hold of Osama bin Laden.

“I understand what it’s like to send young Americans in harm’s way. I say - I was joking with a veteran - I hate to even go into this. I was joking with an old veteran friend, who joked with me, about Iran. But the point is that I know how to handle these crises. And Sen. Obama, by saying that he would attack Pakistan, look at the context of his words. I’ll get Osama bin Laden, my friends. I’ll get him. I know how to get him.”

Obama also slammed the Afghan government for not being responsive to the people’s needs. “We’re also going to have to work with the Karzai government, and when I met President Karzai, I was very clear that, “You are going to have to do better by your people in order for us to gain the popular support that’s necessary. I don’t think he has to be a dictator. And we want a democracy in Afghanistan. But we have to have a government that is responsive to the Afghan people, and, frankly, it’s just not responsive right now”.