Perry questions intentions of American diplomats

(CNN) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said Monday he didn’t think some State Department employees were working in the best interest of the country.

“I’m not sure our State Department serves us well,” the Texas governor said on a radio program with Fox News host Bill O’Reilly. “I’m not talking about the Secretary of State here. I’m talking about the career diplomats and the Secretary of State who, all too often, may not be making decisions, or giving advice to the administration that’s in this country’s best interest.”

Perry said Congressional action might be required to ensure the nation’s diplomatic corps is taking actions that benefit America.

“We need to have a discussion with Congress to make sure that the decisions that are being made are in America’s best interest,” Perry said.

Perry said tougher action was required in Pakistan, where he suggested the Pakistani intelligence agency was involved in actions harmful to America. Perry said the message to Pakistan hasn’t been clear enough from the United States.

“We need to lay down the law to Pakistan,” Perry said.

Perry also downplayed President Barack Obama’s role in killing Osama bin Laden, saying the military infrastructure that was already in place had a greater role in finding al Qaeda leader.

“I’ll promise you, those Navy SEALs that took out bin Laden, they knew what they were doing a long time before the president of the United States took office,” Perry said.

“So please don’t come in here and say, ‘I inherited all these problems’ and over here, ‘I did all this.’ No thank you, Mr. President. We know how those things were done. It was because of the dedication and the focus and the professionalism of the military men and women of this country; not because he ended up being the President of the United States.”