The Candidates on U.S.-Pakistan Policy

Rudolph Giuliani 
After Bhutto's assassination, Giuliani said the United States should "redouble" its efforts along the Afghan-Pakistani border "to make sure there's not a slip back to terrorists," (AP) though he did not indicate specifically what that would mean in terms of U.S. troop presence. He said the United States might need to assign increased security resources to the region, and should consider air strikes on al-Qaeda targets in Pakistan (USA Today).

Mike Huckabee 
Huckabee's response to the Pakistani crisis in late December 2007 raised concern in the media about his foreign policy experience. He made erroneous comments about the country's state of emergency and the number of Pakistani illegal immigrants in the United States (TIME). 

In general, Huckabee has said the U.S. "failure to engage al-Qaeda in Pakistan seems to be leading inexorably to their attacking us again." In a September 2007 speech, Huckabee criticized the Bush administration's policy toward Pakistan as having "allowed al-Qaeda to metastasize and get into the blood stream of the Islamic world, with its 'franchises' of local terror groups who give their allegiance to headquarters in Pakistan and get assistance in return." He compared the U.S. focus on Iraq "at the expense of Pakistan or Iran" to "dealing with a neighbor's house that is on fire, while ignoring the house on the other side that is filled with carbon monoxide." Huckabee says the United States should counter extremist influence by helping "meet the needs of Pakistan's poor."

In his Foreign Affairs article, Huckabee called for a policy of "tough love" toward Pakistan, and said as president he will pursue al-Qaeda in Pakistan.

Duncan Hunter 
Rep. Hunter (D-CA) appears to view the relationship between the United States and Pakistan as effective in assisting U.S. goals in the war on terror. In 2007, Hunter criticized Obama's pledge to attack al Qaeda targets in Pakistan. "When you have an ally that is supporting you, and we are working together in cooperation with the Pakistani military in that critical border area, you don't announce that you're going to invade the country," he told the Philadelphia Jewish Voice.

In November 2007, Hunter commented on Musharraf's temporary implementation of a state of emergency in Pakistan. He said the United States should " not rush to abandon Musharraf, but work with him to get Pakistan back on the path toward democracy, including the release of political dissidents and the reinstatement of the Supreme Court." He also said the United States might consider "lending our own security capabilities to ensure the strongest possible protection of Pakistan's nuclear stockpile."

John McCain 
Sen. McCain (R-AZ) has advocated continued U.S. cooperation with Musharraf to "dismantle the cells and camps that the Taliban and al-Qaeda maintain in his country." In a November 2007 Foreign Affairs essay, he warned that the "Talibanization of Pakistani society is advancing," and said the United States should make "a long-term commitment to the country." This would include bolstering Pakistan's security capabilities to enhance "Pakistan's ability to act against insurgent safe havens." He also said the United States should "bring children into schools and out of extremist madrassas," though he did not specify how the United States should approach that task.