Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Besieged Musharraf plays for time

By Syed Saleem Shahzad
Asia Times

"......On Monday, Musharraf presided over a meeting that included Vice Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kiani, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the director general of Military Intelligence, Major General Nadeem Ejaz. They acknowledged a few home truths, notably that in the present highly charged political climate, Musharraf's government cannot afford to open up any new fronts against militants in the Waziristan tribal areas, or elsewhere.

This means that Musharraf's support (read money) in the West, especially from Washington, will be placed on the line as he will not be able to deliver on his pledges to go hard against Taliban and al-Qaeda militancy in the country. US President George W Bush and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have already said as much......."

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