Limbaugh: Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden "on the same page"

Summary: On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh claimed that he gets Sen. Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden "confused," stating that bin Laden's call in a newly released tape "to invade Pakistan and declare war on Pakistan and [Pakistani President] Musharraf ... puts him on the same page with" Obama. However, Obama has said he "never called for an invasion of Pakistan."

During the September 20 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, discussing a newly released audio tape reported to be from Osama bin Laden in which he calls for Pakistanis to overthrow President Pervez Musharraf, Rush Limbaugh asserted: "Well, we've got another tape from -- I get these guys confused -- Usama bin Laden. Another tape says he's going to invade Pakistan and declare war on Pakistan and Musharraf, which, ladies and gentlemen, puts him on the same page with a Democrat presidential candidate -- that would be Barack 'Uss-Obama.' " Limbaugh then aired an audio clip of a recent statement by Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL): "If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will." Misrepresenting Obama's comment, Limbaugh then said: "All right, so, we're going to attack Pakistan. Poor Musharraf's going to get it on both ends if Barack's elected."

However, as Media Matters for America has repeatedly documented (here, here, and here), Obama never said he would "attack Pakistan," or "declare war on Pakistan and Musharraf." As Limbaugh noted, in his August 1 speech, Obama did claim that "[i]f we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will," but he did not elaborate on the nature of this action. From Obama's August 1 speech:

OBAMA: As president, I would make the hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military aid to Pakistan conditional, and I would make our conditions clear: Pakistan must make substantial progress in closing down the training camps, evicting foreign fighters, and preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan as a staging area for attacks in Afghanistan.

I understand that President Musharraf has his own challenges. But let me make this clear. There are terrorists holed up in those mountains who murdered 3,000 Americans. They are plotting to strike again. It was a terrible mistake to fail to act when we had a chance to take out an Al Qaeda leadership meeting in 2005. If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will.

And Pakistan needs more than F-16s to combat extremism. As the Pakistani government increases investment in secular education to counter radical madrasas, my administration will increase America's commitment. We must help Pakistan invest in the provinces along the Afghan border, so that the extremists' program of hate is met with one of hope. And we must not turn a blind eye to elections that are neither free nor fair -- our goal is not simply an ally in Pakistan, it is a democratic ally.

During an August 6 campaign stop in Iowa, when an audience member asked Obama about his comments, Obama responded, "The misreporting that was done needs to be cleared up. I never called for an invasion of Pakistan."

From the September 20 broadcast of Premiere Radio Networks' The Rush Limbaugh Show:

LIMBAUGH: Well, we've got another tape from -- I get these guys confused -- Usama bin Laden. Another tape says he's going to invade Pakistan and declare war on Pakistan and Musharraf, which, ladies and gentlemen, puts him on the same page with a Democrat presidential candidate -- that would be Barack "Uss-Obama." And let's go back to August 1st: "U-Bama" gave a speech on counterterrorism, and here's a portion of what he said.

OBAMA [audio clip]: If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf will not act, we will.

LIMBAUGH: All right, so, we're going to attack Pakistan. Poor Musharraf's going to get it on both ends if Barack's elected.

—A.J.W.