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Obama: bin Laden must not be a martyr

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-19 11:24

Democratic US presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) smiles during a news conference as he is flanked by former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry (L), former Clinton administration advisor Greg Craig (2nd L), former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (2nd R) and former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig (R) after a meeting with Obama's foreign policy advisory panel at a hotel in Washington June 18, 2008. [Agencies]

He stood in front of 17 American flags and a sign that said "Judgment to Lead." He was surrounded by national security experts who had formerly served in Congress and the Clinton administration and will be advising his campaign -- an effort to bring foreign policy experience to a candidate who has served just three years in Congress.

"Osama bin Laden and his top leadership -- the people who murdered 3,000 Americans -- have a safe-haven in northwest Pakistan, where they operate with such freedom of action that they can still put out hate-filled audiotapes to the outside world," Obama said. "That's the result of the Bush-McCain approach to the war on terrorism."

McCain told reporters in Missouri that under a recent Supreme Court ruling that Obama supports, bin Laden would be awarded new legal rights if he were captured and brought to the US facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where military detainees are being held.

"It's very clear to me that it was a wrong decision," McCain said. The Republican presidential contender also approvingly cited former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's recent comment that Obama "doesn't have an understanding of the nature of that threat" from terrorists.

How to handle bin Laden has been a tricky question for presidents and those who would like to be in the White House. In the 2004 campaign, Democratic candidate Howard Dean was criticized for refusing to prejudge bin Laden's guilt before a trial. President Bush has said his statement that he wanted to capture Osama bin Laden "dead or alive" was one of the biggest mistakes of his presidency because it was misinterpreted around the world.

Obama's 13-member foreign policy advisory group includes three who advised Hillary Rodham Clinton and served in her husband's Cabinet -- former Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher and former Defense Secretary William Perry. Albright was asked if she brought any advice from Clinton, who had questioned whether Obama had the experience to be commander in chief.

"Their positions are so similar on restoring America's leadership," she said as she walked out the door without stopping to say anything more.

Other working group members include Sam Nunn of Georgia, Lee Hamilton of Indiana, David Boren of Oklahoma and Tim Roemer of Indiana -- all former Democratic lawmakers known for their foreign policy expertise. It also includes several Clinton administration officials -- Tony Lake, Susan Rice, Greg Craig, Eric Holder, Richard Danzig and Jim Steinberg. Holder, a former deputy attorney general, is helping lead Obama's search for a running mate.

Obama later met in the same hotel ballroom with 41 retired admirals and generals to discuss the state of the military and the challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

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