An influential Democratic lawmaker who backs Senator Barack Obama for the Presidency has said the al Qaeda is not in Iraq but in Pakistan where the US administration should focus. 'Al Qaida is not waiting for our electoral cycle or inauguration. If they have an opportunity to strike, they will strike. And that is why I think we have to take steps today, and that is why I was very pleased when Senator Obama called for much more aggressive action in Pakistan,' Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island said.
There, Al Qaida is reconstituting itself. If they have the operational space and they have the time, they will develop plans, and it's not with respect to the new administration. It's when they think they can strike and be effective at catastrophic attacks, he said on ABC's 'This Week' programme.
'I think Senator Obama has demonstrated the insight he has on strategy by saying, let's focus on the real enemies, the ones that are attacking us and plan to attack us here in the United States. They're not in Iraq. They're probably more likely in Pakistan. And I think that's the area that we have to focus on. The administration has to do that now,' he added.
Reed also used the occasion to slam the presumptive Republican nominee Senator John McCain for being 'fundamentally wrong' on Iraq.
'I think Senator McCain has not been consistently right. He's been fundamentally wrong on the strategy.
'A pre-emptive unilateral attack in Iraq has, I think, had unfortunate consequences strategically. We see the Iranians growing in influence and power in the region. And much of that is attributed to the initial decision to conduct military operations, unilateral operations in Iraq,' the lawmaker added.