On Saturday, four of the Democratic candidates were invited to take part in a debate hosted by ABC News. Senator Barack Obama repeated his assertion that he would authorize the U.S. military to carry out unilateral attacks inside Pakistan without the support of the Pakistani government if there was actionable intelligence against al-Qaeda.

Sen. Barack Obama: “And that’s the flaw of the Bush doctrine. It wasn’t that he went after those who attacked America, but he went after those who didn’t. And as a consequence, we have been bogged down, paid extraordinary price in blood and treasure, and we have fanned the anti-American sentiment. ”