Gates, 2007: "We would not act without telling Musharraf what we were planning to do."

[ThatPoetGuy]

On August 1st, 2007, Senator Barack Obama laid out the simple facts. If he were President and received actionable information about targets within Pakistan, he would be willing to strike at those targets with or without Musharraf's support.

Shortly afterwards, Tim Russert asked Secretary of Defense Robert Gates what he thought of the Obama plan.

MR. RUSSERT: Before you go, if we had actionable intelligence about Osama bin Laden or high level targets in Pakistan, and General Musharraf—President Musharraf did not act, would we act unilaterally?

SEC’Y GATES: Musharraf has been a very strong ally. The fact of the matter is, if we had actionable intelligence that Osama was in Pakistan, I think—my view is that President Musharraf would work with us to make sure that we could go after him.

MR. RUSSERT: But if he didn’t, would we act unilaterally?

SEC’Y GATES: I think we would not act without telling Musharraf what we were planning to do.

http://oxblog.blogspot.com/2007/08/obama-vs.html

[Cant trust em]

1. Of course that's what he was going to say. nt

[Tx4obama]

2. Musharraf is no longer president, and btw Musharraf made an agreement with Bush

to allow the USA to cross the border and get Bin Laden.
So, I see no problem here.

[ThatPoetGuy]

3. My point was more that Gates' statement shows the Bush administration deserves no credit

for Obama following a strategy they rejected.