Senator Clinton: No 'blank check' for Pakistani government Nick Langewis and Mike Aivaz

Published: Saturday December 29, 2007



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Print This Email This Senator and 2008 presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) says, during a recent interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, that the Pakistani government should not receive what she calls another "blank check" from the Bush Administration. Clinton also does not trust the Pakistani government to conduct its own investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister and opposition party leader Benazir Bhutto. A government that dismantled its independent judiciary, quashed political opposition and suppressed its media cannot be trusted, she asserts. The Senator calls for a full, independent international investigation, discouraging American involvement, for fear that it would lack credibility and politicize what should be a genuine effort to uncover the truth. Clinton says a fully independent investigation is in the best interests of the Pakistani people and the advancement of democracy in Pakistan; Clinton suggests an investigation modeled on the one the UN has been conducting into the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. "President Musharraf," says the Senator, "in every meeting I've had with him; the elites in Pakistan, who still wield tremendous power; plus the leadership of the military, act as though they can destabilize Pakistan and retain their positions--their positions of privilege; their positions of authority. That is not the way it will work." "This is a damning indictment of President Pervez Musharraf," responds Blitzer. "Some are calling on him to step down. Do you believe he should step down?" "What I believe," Clinton responds, "is that he should meet certain conditions, and quickly." Clinton calls for internationally supported free elections after Bhutto's successor has been named. If Musharraf chooses to run, she continues, he should be bound by the same rules that will govern his opponents. Clinton also calls for the return to an independent judiciary. Having already given $10 billion to the Pakistani military with dubious results against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, says Clinton, the United States should not continue to turn a blind eye to Pakistan's other activities simply in exchange for its status as a "reliable ally." (One report worries that much aid has been misappropriated towards efforts against India.) A "reliable ally," charges Clinton, would have done more to combat al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and wouldn't work to undermine democracy like Musharraf has. "I do not think we should be giving the Musharraf government a blank check, and that's exactly what the Bush Administration has done," says Clinton, who calls for accountability not only from Pakistan, but from the Department of Defense, in handling money funding efforts in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Clinton also urges diplomatic relations between Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. "We need to help them understand what is in their interests," she warns in reference to Pakistan's elites, "and that, of course, includes President Musharraf." The entire exchange is available below. It was aired on CNN's The Situation Room on December 28, 2007.



