Rep. Ted Poe tells Newsmax that Pakistan is playing both sides of the war on terrorism and he is calling for the U.S. to halt foreign aid to Pakistan until it divulges its true role in hiding Osama bin Landen.
The Texas Republican also charges that Obama is merely paying lip service to border security and is waging war against red state Texas by denying disaster aid. Rep. Poe was first elected in 2004 and is a member of the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax.TV, Poe discloses why he has introduced legislation to cut off $1.3 billion in annual aid to Pakistan.
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“Pakistan, in my opinion, plays both sides. There have always been rumors and suspicions about the loyalty of Pakistan as an American ally. I have thought, based on information I have received, that some of the money we give Pakistan may end up in the hands of the people who hate us and try to harm our troops.
“We continue to give them billions of dollars in foreign aid. That money’s not accountable. We don’t know where it really goes.
“It’s time to freeze that money until they come forward and let us know what they really did regarding the hiding of Osama bin Laden, until we get truthful answers about their involvement with him and hiding him out.
“They claim they didn’t. It seems like they did. He’s in the same residence for five years and they didn’t know about it? Either their intelligence service is incompetent or they were helping him.
“We need to find out the truth. Until we get that resolution, no more foreign aid. No American money until that is resolved.”
Poe also says the death of bin Laden won’t destroy al-Qaida, and that in time the terrorist organization will reorganize, find a new leader, and continue to pose a threat to the United States.
Poe also said Commander in Chief Barack Obama has become “campaigner in chief” and is pandering to Hispanics in hopes of securing their vote in the 2012 election.
President Obama on Tuesday gave a speech in Texas, arguing for tighter border control and pushing the DREAM Act to offer a pathway to citizenship for 11 million illegal aliens.
Asked why Obama would focus on the Act even though it has little or no chance of passing in Congress, Poe responds: “It’s the political season, and the commander-in-chief has now become the campaigner-in-chief. He’s running for office again, and this is a way to pander to the Hispanic community, hoping that they will vote for him next year when he runs for president again.
“I think that’s totally a political decision. The DREAM Act is not going anywhere. It’s been rejected by Congress and will continue to be rejected by Congress.
“And in my opinion he just gave lip service to border security. The border is worse than it ever has been. The ranchers, the people who live near the border, many of them live in fear.
“The administration’s own Inspector General has said the border is 44 percent secure. If it’s only 44 percent secure, that means somebody else controls the other 56 percent. If it’s not the United States and it’s not Mexico, then it’s the drug cartels and anyone else who wishes to come in.
“So the border’s not secure, the DREAM Act is not going anywhere, and the president is politicking, hoping to convince people to vote for him next year.”
Discussing conditions at the Mexican border, Poe tells Newsmax: “The border is the third front, the first being Afghanistan, the second Iraq, the third is on the border with Mexico. It is a violent place. People on both sides of the border live in fear because of the reckless abandon that the violent drug cartels use crossing back and forth across the border.
“It is a national security issue, not an immigration issue. The one thing the government is supposed to do under the Constitution is protect the country. We’re protecting the borders of other nations. How ironic we do that and we don’t even protect our own. So it’s time we recognize that this is a national security issue and we need more boots on the ground.”
Poe supports Arizona’s efforts to pass legislation strengthening the state’s ability to deal with illegal immigration, which is now facing a challenge in the courts.
“I suspect [Arizona] will win that case before the United States Supreme Court on a close vote,” says Poe, a former judge.
“That’s another example of the administration’s border security plan: Sue states that try to protect themselves because the federal government refuses to protect them.”
Poe was asked if it was appropriate for the president to engage in fund-raising in El Paso, Tex., this week in light of to FEMA’s decision to deny a disaster declaration for the Texas wildfires while doing so for other states battling floods.
“Of course it was an insult to Texas, another example of the administration’s war on Texas,” Poe declares. “There are over 2.2 million acres that have burned in Texas. That’s the size of Delaware and Rhode Island put together.
“The president ignored the obvious. We need some help. FEMA needs to do what they’re supposed to do, helping disaster recovery, and he didn’t mention that. All he did was go to El Paso, politick, make promises to try to get votes, and go on his way as campaigner-in-chief.”