Obama puts focus on al Qaeda after Pakistan bombing

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said Saturday’s bombing of an Islamabad hotel shows that the United States must redouble its efforts against al Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organizations, as both he and GOP nominee John McCain called for collaboration with the new Pakistani government. 

“As the attack earlier this week on our embassy in Yemen shows, over seven years after 9/11, the terrorist threat knows no borders, and the terrorists threaten innocent civilians of all religions and regions,” Sen. Obama (Ill.) stated. “Now is the time to refocus our efforts on defeating al Qaeda and securing the American people.”

{mosads}Sen. McCain’s (Ariz.) statement made no mention of al Qaeda, instead noting that no organization has taken responsibility.

McCain said the attacks should deepen the resolve of both the United States and Pakistan to root out terrorism, an assertion echoed by Obama.

“We must work with the elected government of Pakistan to find those responsible, hold them accountable, and diminish their ability to threaten us and our allies in the future,” McCain said. “It also serves as one more demonstration of the need for the next president to work closely with our partners and allies in order to counter the dangers posed by radical Islamic extremism.”

Pakistan has been an ally in the war on terror, but many questions have been raised about how active former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf actually was in cracking down on terrorism.

Musharraf resigned from office last month amid threats of impeachment and has since been replaced by Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

President Bush said Saturday that the U.S. would Pakistan recover from the bombing, which killed dozens, among them at least one American, according to reports.

“We will assist Pakistan in confronting this threat and bringing the perpetrators to justice,” Bush said in a statement. “We will fully support the democratically-elected government of Pakistan and the Pakistani people as they face enormous challenges economically, as well as from terrorism.”