>>Hillary takes the velvet gloves off and states the case as she sees it.

I certainly never thought I would praise Hillary Clinton but this was the right thing to do and is long overdue.  BB

Clinton to Pakistanis on Al-Qaeda top dogs: “I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are, and couldn’t get to them if they really wanted to”

Challenging them on Al-Qaeda, but not on women’s rights

Of course the Pakistani authorities say they’re doing all they can. They made this claim through the years in which they were funneling American anti-terror money to the jihadists they were supposed to be fighting. “Clinton Challenges Pakistanis on Al Qaeda,” by Mark Landler in the New York Times, October 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

LAHORE, Pakistan — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on a visit meant to improve relations with Pakistan, strongly suggested Thursday that some Pakistani officials bore responsibility for allowing terrorists from Al Qaeda to operate from safe havens along this country’s frontier.”I find it hard to believe that nobody in your government knows where they are, and couldn’t get to them if they really wanted to,” she said to a group of Pakistani journalists on her second day here. “Maybe that’s the case; maybe they’re not gettable. I don’t know.”

It is extremely rare for an official of Mrs. Clinton’s rank to say publicly what American politicians and intelligence officials have said in more guarded ways for years. The remarks upset her hosts, who have seen hundreds of soldiers and civilians killed as Pakistan has taken on a widening campaign against militant groups that have threatened the country from its tribal areas.

But her skeptical comments also gave voice to the longtime frustration of American officials with what they see as the Pakistani government’s lack of resolve in rooting out not only Al Qaeda, but also the Taliban leadership based in Quetta, and a host of militant groups that use the border region to stage attacks on American and NATO forces in Afghanistan….

Mrs. Clinton’s comments were prominently played on Pakistani news channels, and government officials rejected her assertion.

“If we knew where Al Qaeda’s leaders were, or if we had meaningful intelligence on their whereabouts shared with us, we would act against them,” said a senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on this issue….

Despite heightened security concerns, Mrs. Clinton stuck to her schedule, traveling to Lahore to meet opposition leaders and tour the majestic Badshahi Mosque, as thousands of police officers lined the route of her motorcade, shutting down the center of this city of 10 million….