Letters to the Editor
This letter is associated with the following article:
-
Paul Dirks
Having said that though, I will note that much of what Obama is being criticized for isn't that he'd express willingness to go after OBL, it's that he's willing to bypass one of our favored dictators in order to do so.
That wasn't what McCain's criticism was. McCain's criticism was that it's naive to announce in advance that you're going to bomb another country. If you're going to do it, argues McCain, you decide quietly and then do it -- not threaten it or announce it in advance.
Independently, Obama said he'd consider a bombing campaign only if (a) there was actionable intelligence about where Al Qaeda operatives were and (b) Musharraf refused to take action.
Pakistan (like Saudi Arabia) on the other hand has a purported "ally" in power and is hence off limits. That this is precisely why Al Qeada considers those countries safe haven is not only lost in the debate, it is absolutely taboo to discuss.
True -- and that's the point. We so readily declare other Muslim countries our "enemies" even though they haven't attacked us, but the only taboo topics are talking about military action actually connected to 9/11 -- such as what Obama discussed and, as you say, the role of Saudi Arabia.