Barack Obama was trying to give a boost to his poll ratings when he declared on Wednesday that he was prepared to unilaterally send US troops into Pakistan to get terrorists, states Pramit Pal Chaudhuri of the Hindustan Times. Chaudhuri says Obama was not trying to warn President General Pervez Musharraf, but was instead attempting to impress the US public with his firm stance on an issue of war.
In his speech, Obama argued he would withdraw US soldiers from Iraq, but increase their numbers in Afghanistan. He also alleged that Musharraf hadn’t done enough in the fight against Al Qaeda. This appeared to be in direct response to a poll by American Research Group that showed Clinton had a 21-point lead over Obama after he said he was prepared to “unconditionally” meet leaders like Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmedinejad and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il.
