In the United States, all of the presidential candidates issued statements Thursday condemning the assassination. Senator Barack Obama’s top campaign strategist, David Axelrod, responded by highlighting Hillary Clinton’s vote to support the US invasion of Iraq. Axelrod said, “Barack Obama had the judgment to oppose the war in Iraq. And he warned at the time that it would divert us from Afghanistan and al-Qaeda, and now we see the effect of that… Senator Clinton made a different judgment. Let’s have that discussion.”