Hillary did not warn Pak of ‘severe consequences’: U.S.

The Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not warn Islamabad of “severe consequences” if a terrorist attack inside the US were to be have its foot print in Pakistan, two top officials of the State Department have said. “As a result, the quotes appeared to be different than what the Secretary of State actually meant.” Mr. Holbrooke also said US aid to Pakistan would be impacted as a result of recent developments; consequent of the investigations according to which Pakistani Taliban was responsible for the failed Times Square bombing attempt. According to an as-aired transcript of the interview released by the State Department, Clinton was asked: “Even in light of the Times Square bomber, you are comfortable with the cooperation you’re getting from the Pakistani Government?” Ms. Clinton answered: “Well, no, I didn’t say that. We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan was to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences.” Observing that Ms. Clinton’s quotes were not been taken in proper context, Mr. Holbrooke said: “I think that perhaps it was not fully understood for what she was saying by some people who didn’t see the full text or didn’t appreciate what she was saying.