One more word about Obama's interview with Al Arabiya. The president has promised to escalate the war in Afghanistan. He has promised a very aggressive stance toward Pakistan. And yet in his interview, some of which focused on America's relations with the Muslim world, Obama uttered the words "Afghanistan" and "Pakistan" once each, in neither instance specifically addressing what is going on there or what he has pledged to do. This is the portion of the interview in question:
I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated. And what I've said, and I think Hillary Clinton has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress.
