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Thursday, December 27, 2007
NELSON STATEMENT ON ASSASSINATION OF BENAZIR BHUTTO

Nebraska’s Senator Ben Nelson today issued the following statement on the assassination of Pakistan’s opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

“The death of Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is a tragic loss for democracy in the world particularly for Pakistan. The assassination is a cowardly act of terrorism undertaken by extremists seeking to destabilize the region and those who planned it must be apprehended and brought to justice. I have met Ms. Bhutto and I want to send my condolences to her friends, family and supporters.
 
“In a formal meeting with President Pervez Musharraf, he assured me that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are sufficiently secured. The United States must monitor the situation closely because further destabilization and the presence of terrorist forces such as Al Qaeda and Taliban in Northeast Pakistan represent a significant national security threat to the United States.
 

“In the midst of all this turmoil I am concerned about potentially having misspent billions of U.S. dollars in Pakistan. I plan to ask the Senate Armed Services Committee to review our financial obligations to Pakistan and the efficiency of the use of U.S. funds there.”

To download an audio version of this recording, visit Senator Nelson’s multimedia website at:

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