Leaders Who Met With Palin Praise Biden

[democracy1st]

Foreign leaders from three continents this week provided Gov. Sarah Palin with personal tutorials on world affairs, exchanging views on everything from international security to Alaskan energy policies. But they also sought to show they weren't taking sides in the American election contest, going out of their way to tell reporters how much they think of Sen. Joseph Biden.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili showered praise on Biden, saying he played a little known role in advising the government on how it should respond to Russian intervention last month. "There were lots of people calling me," he said at a breakfast hosted by Richard Holbrooke, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Biden and Holbrooke, he said, "were two people that made lots of difference on the ground."


Saakashvili said Biden called him two days after Russian troops entered Georgia and proposed a series of "very concrete things we should do." He said Biden came up with the idea -- later approved by the Bush Administration -- to provide a $1 billion grant to Georgia to get back on its feet, and that he also outlined a series of laws designed to punish Russia, including legislation that would "go after corrupt Russian officials."

The effusive praise appeared in part to show that Saakashvili had friends in America's two major political camps. Until recently, the Georgian leader had been perceived as close to Sen. John McCain, a sharp critic of Russia's military intervention of Georgia. Earlier this year, Georgia signed a $200,000 contract with a lobbying firm owned by McCain's top foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann.

Pakistan's new President Asif Ali Zardari said he thought Palin was "very nice" and that she was "quite knowledgeable" about the threat of terror posed by Islamic extremists along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. "She is obviously a hunting lady," he said, suggesting it was a useful qualification for understanding Pakistan's security complex challenges.

Zardari said he was impressed by Palin's strategy for developing oil reserves in Alaska, saying that she had done a good job ensuring revenues flowed to local communities. He said he was considering a similar approach to exploiting natural resources in Pakistan."I've been promoting the Alaska model to some extent in Pakistan," he said.

At that stage, a senior aide interrupted the Pakistani leader. "The president also spoke to Joseph Biden," he said. Zardari said that Biden has been instrumental in steering hundred of millions of US dollars to Pakistan to shore up democracy. "He has been a great friend of democracy from the first day," Zardari added.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09/26/leaders_who_met_with_palin_als.html?hpid=sec-politics