For months, the White House stalled on whether Clinton should go to Pakistan. Islamabad has after all been a long time faithful ally of Washington—during the Cold War and especially during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. But the military take over in Islamabad, Pakistan’s refusal to use its influence to extradite Osama Ben Laden from Afghanistan or ban the Harkat-ul Mujahideen, an armed Pakistani group the U.S. lists as a terrorist organization, have strained traditionally strong ties. The White House was worried that a visit to Pakistan would be seen as endorsing the military regime in Islamabad. But barely two weeks after a 50,000 dollar fund-raiser by Pakistani-Americans for Hilary Clinton’s Senate race last month, Clinton reversed himself and announced he would visit Pakistan after all. So was the campaign contribution a factor in influencing the president? [includes rush transcript]