Rice: New Pakistan President must be ally against al-Qaeda

September 11, 2008 02:24 pm

— OKLAHOMA CITY — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Andrew Rice said the election of Asif Ali Zardari as Pakistan's new president is a strong step toward combating a resurging al-Qaeda in the region.

"President Zardari realizes how important it will be for our nation and his to defeat the threat posed by al-Qaeda and Taliban extremists," Rice said Monday. "Pakistan holds a critical position in the War on Terror, but it has been in political paralysis. Now, our leaders need to work in a bi-partisan way to combat dangerous extremism in the region with President Zardari."

Zardari, the widow of assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was elected over the weekend. Zardari had promised to focus on terrorists hiding in Pakistan's tribal areas.

"Al-Qaeda has taken refuge in remote areas of Pakistan to carry out attacks on U.S. and allied troops fighting in Afghanistan," Rice said. "The War in Afghanistan has been hindered by these attacks, and winning it once and for all is in our best national security interest. To do that, we need full cooperation from Pakistan to hunt down al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the region.

"This is about finding solutions to a growing problem in that area that threatens our national security."