Original Blog Entry: Interesting Article

NBey6 — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:54:10 GMT

October 21, 2008

Palin ignores her own Pakistan remark while criticizing Obama

Posted: 02:34 PM ET

From CNN Political Producer Peter Hamby

Gov. Palin criticized Obama's foreign policy Tuesday.

RENO, Nevada (CNN) Sarah Palin s pointed criticism of Barack Obama s foreign policy agenda Tuesday morning included a swipe at Obama s stated commitment to strike at terrorists inside Pakistan s borders if they are in the sights of the American military.

Senator Obama has also advocated sending our U.S. military into Pakistan without the approval of the Pakistani government, Palin said. Invading the sovereign territory of a troubled partner in the war against terrorism.

But Palin herself has advocated the same approach.

Palin told a voter at a retail stop in Philadelphia in September that the United States should absolutely cross the border into Pakistan to hunt terrorists, a statement that appeared to contradict John McCain's preference to negotiate with the Pakistani government first, or at the very least, to not publicly announce such a strategy.

At Tony Luke s cheesesteaks in South Philadelphia, Temple University graduate student Michael Rovito asked the vice presidential candidate several questions about United States foreign policy towards Pakistan.

So we do cross border, like from Afghanistan to Pakistan you think? Rovito asked.

If that s what we have to do stop the terrorists from coming any further in, absolutely, we should, Palin responded, before moving on to greet other voters.

In an interview with CBS s Katie Couric several days later, Palin re-iterated that we will do what we have to do to secure the United States of America and her allies.

When Couric asked John McCain, seated next to Palin in the interview, if that was something you shouldn t say out loud, McCain said, Of course not.

Even though Palin was talking to a voter at a campaign stop organized by her campaign, both Palin and McCain dismissed the caught-on-camera exchange with Rovito as gotcha journalism.

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