Obama Gets Grilled on Pakistan
The Washington Post reports:
MUMBAI - President Obama was challenged Sunday by an Indian university student to explain his administration's unwavering support for Pakistan, exposing in a single question the central challenge to his goal of strengthening the U.S. relationship with India.
During a town hall forum at St. Xavier's College here, a student rose to ask Obama why he does not refer to Pakistan as a "terrorist state," drawing some gasps from the rest of the audience. Obama told the crowd that he had expected the issue to come up, and he answered by challenging the several hundred students present to view a country against whom India has fought three major wars, and was the staging area for a devastating terrorist attack against this city, from a new perspective.
"We want nothing more than a stable, prosperous and peaceful Pakistan," Obama said. "Our feeling has been to be honest and forthright with Pakistan, to say, 'We are your friend, this is a problem and we will help you, but the problem has to be addressed.' "
The question came two years after gunmen trained in Pakistan landed in a fisherman's village on the city's waterfront and killed more than 170 people in a days-long siege. The question highlighted the problem Pakistan presents for Obama as he seeks to strengthen trade, military and cultural ties with one of the world's fastest-growing democratic economies.
