|
 |
 |
|
US buys air time in Pakistan to denounce anti-Islamic video
The U.S. government made a $70,000 ad buy on Pakistani TV condemning the anti-Islamic video that has sparked protests across the Middle East and led to the U.S ambassador to Libya’s death.
As tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Thursday, the State Department announced it had bugun running a series of public service announcements that feature clips of President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton condemning the film.
Purchases like this are regularly made in places like Pakistan, said State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.
“I think the sense was that this particular aspect of the President and the Secretary’s message needed to be heard by more Pakistanis than had heard it. And that this was an effective way to get that message out,” Nuland said in a press briefing Thursday.
The ads feature clips from speeches Obama and Clinton delivered following the release of the “Innocence of Muslims” video.
The ad features both leaders speaking in English and translated to Urdu, a common language in the country.
“Since our founding, the United States has been a nation of respect — that respects all faiths. We reject all efforts to denigrate the religious beliefs of others,” Obama says in the video.
The video is stamped with the presidential seal to prove authenticity, Nuland said.
“Let me state very clearly that the United States has absolutely nothing to do with this video,” Clinton says. “We absolutely reject its contents. The — America’s commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation.”
Protesters were held back from the U.S. Embassy’s enclave in Islamabad on Thursday, Nuland said. She also said cooperation with Pakistani security “has been good.”
The announcement of the TV buy comes as Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has filibustered a resolution in the Senate that would fund the U.S. government with the hopes of getting a vote on a bill that defunds aid to Egypt, Libya and Pakistan.
