The White House is standing behind Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s blunt suggestion that Pakistani officials know where top terrorists are hiding, Geo news reported.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday that Clinton’s public comments echoed what U.S. officials tell the Pakistanis in private. He said they do not undermine Pakistani anti-terror cooperation.
Said Gibbs, “I think those remarks were completely appropriate.”
While traveling in Pakistan on Thursday, Clinton suggested some Pakistani officials knew where al-Qaida’s upper echelon has been hiding within their country and have done little to target them. She slightly revised the remarks Friday, saying she doesn’t think the government is purposely harboring terrorists.
