Biden: Pakistan Could Be "Nightmare" For U.S. Without Policy Shift

Joe Biden says the unrest in Pakistan reminds him of the situation in 1970's Iran, but with higher stakes.

The Delaware Senator says unless the Bush Administration shifts its focus from the stability of President Pervez Musharraf to the needs of Pakistan as a whole, that nation's moderate majority will take up common cause with extremists.

"It's hard to imagine a greater nightmare for America - the world's second largest Muslim nation becoming a failed state in fundamentalist hands, with an arsenal of nuclear weapons and a population larger than Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea combined."

Biden says his first step would be to triple humanitarian aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion dollars a year.

He says President Musharraf also needs to be told that military aid will be withheld if democracy isn't restored.

For NHPR News, I'm Josh Rogers.