Sunday, May 22, 2011

Obama: would raid Pakistan again if militant found

Reuters, May 22, 2011

U.S. President Barack Obama is seen being interviewed by Britian's Andrew Marr of the BBC in the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House, in Washington in this photograph received in London on May 21, 2011. REUTERS/Pete Souza/The White House/BBC/Handout
LONDON | Sun May 22, 2011 7:07am EDT

(Reuters) – President Barack Obama would approve a new incursion into Pakistan if the United States found another leading militant there, he said in a BBC interview broadcast on Sunday.

U.S. Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001, in a raid on his fortified compound in Pakistan on May 2, ending a manhunt for the world’s most-wanted militant.

Asked if Obama would do the same again if the United States discovered another “high-value target” in Pakistan or another country, such as a senior al Qaeda member or Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar, he said he would “take the shot.”

“We are very respectful of the sovereignty of Pakistan. But we cannot allow someone who is actively planning to kill our people or our allies’ people, we can’t allow those kind of active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action,” Obama told the BBC.

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