Nobody using a US Passport would have been able to enter Pakistan during the time that Obama went there.
False. There were no travel restrictions to Pakistan then. There was a travel advisory but that does not prohibit travel. It’s BS that people keep repeating and has been debunked a thousand times here on FR.
That is a complete crock, and utter falsehood, and repeating it over and over can't and won't ever make it true. I KNOW you could travel to Pakistan on a US passport at around that time, and I know it because I did it. I do believe, however, that when OBAMA went there he traveled on his Indonesian passport. But if he had had a US passport, it would have worked just fine. I just don't think he had one.
Why not? I am quite curious to get your reasoning. At the time, even more than now, Pakistan was a strong US ally in the region. Currently the relationship is under a lot of strain, primarily due to Islamabad not doing much to fight against the growing radicalism in the nation, plus Islamabad's growing ties with Beijing (not to mention Washington's growing ties with Delhi), but back then during the Cold War the relationship was exceptionally strong. The US was Pakistan's main backer, with the former USSR backing India (how things change).
Thus, the premise that 'nobody using a US passport would have been able to enter Pakistan during the time that Obama went there' doesn't seem to be veritable. Maybe you are confusing Pakistan with Iran, another US 'ally' that, following the '79 revolution, made it increasingly difficult for a US passport holder to visit.
This is a problem I always find with the Birther movement ...exposing oneself to easy rebuttal. I think people continue to say things that are patently not correct, and in doing so they give the other side a lot of ammunition. In essence, all a 'debunker' needs to do is focus on the incorrect stuff, and totally IGNORE the other information the Birthers have that is actually true and potentially damaging to the President. The enemy/otherparty/etc will always focus on the low hanging fruit, and the Birther movement has consistently been doing that.
This is the reason that I am extremely happy Trump is following up on this (even though I do not necessarily trust his motives). Trump will do it in a professional way, he will focus on facts and investigate those facts at a comprehensive level, he will not simply parrot stuff he read on email that can be easily rebutted (think of all the 'breaking news' the Birthers have come up with, ranging from fake birth certificates and scanned copies with promises of releasing the real Kenyan BC ...all of them being broken promises), and MOST importantly, presenting a serious face (unlike Orly whoever, who just seemed like a crazy woman). Trump, for all his faults, simply cannot be ignored, and that makes him the biggest proponent for the Birther movement. Finally the issue is being heard, it is being heard from a serious person (not some clown like Orly), it is being heard from a factual basis (not non-existent inabilities to get into Pakistan, or fake Kenyan BCs ....which was interesting because I was born in Kenya, and I could tell in a second that BC that was being shown on FR quite some time back was fake ...and easily fake ...only to be told by 'experts' on FR I didn't know what I was saying even about simple things like when Kenya got its independence). Trump is the biggest threat to the whole Obama BC issue, and I am sure he is causing the Administration some sleepless nights.
However, I do wish the rest of the Birther movement would get the facts straight. Isn't there some sort of central website where all the real facts (and there are a number of interesting facts that have not been properly explained by the Administration) can be put together so that people do not end up posting (rather weird) inaccuracies?
Oh, and it is a good thing Orly is no longer in the picture. The worst thing that can happen now is for her to try and 'join' Trump in his crusade. I have always believed that Orly was working for the other side. She almost single-handedly turned an issue that was serious into a running joke.
The Birther movement has a point that is being openly ignored by the Administration, and Trump is easily putting a lot of extra excess heat on the Administration. He may be the one who makes the Administration have to provide something solid. However, the Birther movement also needs to ensure it keeps its facts straight. It is so easy to discredit something real by focusing on aspects that are silly errors. I also think people hear something on talk radio, or read something on the web, and (thinking it is gospel) go around spreading information that is not true.
Imagine if a leading Birther had said no one could get into Pakistan with a US passport at that time ....the MSM would have torn him or her apart, and the Birther movement would have had an open and public humiliation on national TV. The kingdom lost for the want of a nail.
I believe you are wrong about this. Throughout the 1970's and 1980's the US had a closer strategic relationship with Pakistan than we had with India, and while a Pakistani consular visa stamp would have been required by their customs authorities, a US passport was certainly a valid travel document to get into the country. The kind of restriction you're describing would have only applied to places like Cuba, North Korea, and (at that time) Libya.
I've traveled to countries using a regular US passport which, at the time, had no regular diplomatic relations with America (Iraq and Syria in the early 80's are my best personal examples). Having those visas in my passport was never an issue coming back into the US. The list of countries that are actually forbidden to US passport holders is and has always been quite short.
This, however, in no way disputes the theory that Obama may have qualified for, obtained, and used an Indonesian passport to travel to Pakistan. The problem is his passport and all other relevant records are under seal and that leads to all kinds of conjecture. Making it so people who question his background can be labeled conspiracy nuts through a shell game of misdirection may well be a part or even the main rationale behind all this unprecedented secrecy. But spending several million $'s to do that should seem over the top to any reasoning person.