Pakistan To Press Ahead With Elections

(AP)  President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Thursday decided against declaring a state of emergency in Pakistan and will press ahead with plans to hold elections, a government minister said.

Pakistani media have been reporting that the military leader would impose a state of emergency to deal with rising violence and political instability, a move that a senior government official confirmed was under consideration.

Musharraf met with legal experts, security officials and officials from the ruling party, a presidential aide said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

After speaking to Musharraf by phone, apparently following those meetings, Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said the president was committed to holding free and fair elections.

"There were suggestions from the ruling coalition and also from certain other political entities that there is a requirement of emergency in the country. But these suggestions were obviously discussed and ultimately it was decided that it this is not the time," Durrani told The Associated Press.

Speculation that an emergency could be imminent grew after Musharraf on Wednesday abruptly pulled out of the meeting in Kabul with more than 600 Pakistani and Afghan tribal leaders, phoning Afghan President Hamid Karzai to say he couldn't attend because of "engagements" in Islamabad. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz went instead.

Musharraf, a key ally in Washington's fight against terrorism, has seen dwindling popular support amid a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, an independent-minded judge likely to rule on expected legal challenges to Musharraf's bid for re-election to another five-year term. Musharraf also has been beset by rising violence in the country, particularly following an army raid to end the takeover of the Red Mosque in Islamabad, an operation that left more than 100 people dead.

In Washington, President Bush said he is confident in Musharraf's ability to crack down on militants at the Afghan border and cooperate with the United States.

He said he expected Musharraf to take "swift action if there is actionable intelligence inside his country." Bush refused to address whether the U.S. troops would go into Pakistan without permission from leaders there.

"We spend a lot of time with the leadership in Pakistan talking about what we will do with actionable intelligence," Bush said. "Am I confident they (terrorists) will be brought to justice? My answer is, 'Yes I am.'"

Tariq Azim, the deputy information minister, had said earlier in the day that a state of emergency could not be ruled out because of "external and internal threats" and deteriorating security in Pakistan's volatile northwest near the Afghan border.

Azim also said talk from the United States about the possibility of U.S. military action against al Qaeda in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public." He cited recent remarks by Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a presidential candidate, saying they were one reason the government was debating a state of emergency.

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[sjc_1]

I am surprised but glad to see that he is doing this. The stability of Pakistan is important to the region and to us. I hope the election is fair and a clear indication of where the Pakistani people want to go. I think that the old post cold war politics is changing. It took a while to come about, but I think that it is finally under way.

[tbweb]

I've always liked President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, he seems like a very wise Leader to me. Forgoing a State of Emergency and holding free and fair elections in Pakistan is a brilliant move on his part. I hope he wins the election, it will erase the way he came to power and win him the support he needs to handle Pakistan's very complicated problems. Good for you President Musharraf!!

[j-whitman]

Excuse me,,, I made the same mistake Bush did, Iran Iraq - 1 letter off

Bush accuses Iran of destabelizing Iraq --- LOL
Must be advanced Lyme Disease symptems are showing

[j-whitman]

gslinglinger3,,,, You notice something odd about Bush today ????

While all our diplomatic efforts are trying to bring in Iran into the solution as per all our our advisors, Congress & the Iraq Study Group ---- Maliki goes to Iran to get help stabilizing his country & gets the help -------- Bush is yelling at them today, don't deal with Iran

BUSH ACCUSES IRAN OF DESTABELIZING IRAN --- LOL

[toldyouso21]

The first naive, irresposible, irrational American Leader to create a condition of chaos in the Middle East was George Bush. Now another grossly, unqualified aspirant to the Office of President has put a US Ally in the crosshairs of islamic Extremists. Barrack Obama's juvenility has increased the likelihood that a Muslim Country with nuclear capabilities could be taken over by a regime antagonistic to the United States. The planet cannot tolerate such vast incompetence on the part of another Leader of the Free World.
Posted by dbl06 at 11:52 AM : Aug 09, 2007


Barack Obama SAID what George Bush already did--or have you forgotten the Pakistani village Bush bombed in 2006 (while looking for a terrorist) OR the madras schools in northern Pakistan that we bombed last year and this year? How convenient and hypocritical one's memories can be. And no, I am not a fan of Obama...but I am an even less fan of blatant deception and lies.

[toldyouso21]

"What was the first major challenge for the f-14's design ? Who was the company that got the contract, and why did they have a leg up on that challenge? What was the first major flaw with the F-14 and what happened as a result of the inadequacy to those aircraft when they experienced a problem with the flawed part ?
whitman - you are full of it. You no more tore apart F-14s than my mother did. You are the quintesential lair....
Anything less than 80% and we'll know you are BSing. anything more than 5 minutes to respond and we'll know you had to look it up on the net. oh, BTW, this is all available on public TV, and was only telecast last night. All answers were given by the folks tearing them apart. Impress us - dude. "
Posted by speakinup at 07:31 PM : Aug 08, 2007

If a person took apart something, that does not mean they are an expert on it, it could just mena they were trained to take something apart. Your remrks is like thinking a ship welder can answer questuions about maritime history or a nurse is now a definitive expert on medical history or a chef now knows the history of food, or a mechanic the history of the automobile.

There are theoreticians, tacticians and practitioners none of which invaidate the other. I daresay that even people who may have been taught the information you are asking may not have retained it if it was not necessary to do their job.

[j-whitman]

gslinglinger3 ---- Maybe there wouldn't be a "BUSH DYSFUNCTIONAL SYNDROME" if Bush wasn't "DYSFUNCTIONAL"

Bush symptoms for his Lyme Disease :
Confusion, difficulty thinking, Dificulty with consentration, reading, problem solving & absorming new information -- Word speach, name block, forgetfullness, poor short term memory, poor attention, disorentation, getting lost, going to wrong places, mispeaking, mood swings, irratability, depression -- Psychosis (halucinations, delusions, paranoia & bipolar)
--- Lyme Disease Association, Inc.

[red164]

Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American conservative activist.

Norquist has been noted for his widely quoted quip: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.


This is what some Republicans want to do to the US Government and you know what they%u2019re succeeding.


Norquist has been noted for his widely quoted quip: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.

China threatens to trigger US dollar crash

BEIJING: The Chinese government has begun a concerted campaign of economic threats against the United States, hinting that it may liquidate its vast holding of US treasury bonds if Washington imposes trade sanctions to force a yuan revaluation.

Two Chinese officials at leading Communist Party bodies have given interviews in recent days warning, for the first time, that Beijing may use its $1,330 billion (658 billion pounds) of foreign reserves as a political weapon to counter pressure from the US Congress. Shifts in Chinese policy are often announced through key think tanks and academies.

Described as China%u2019s %u2018nuclear option%u2019 in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is breaking down through historic support levels.

[red164]

Posted by risr at 11:19 AM : Aug 09, 2007

Firefighter John Schroeder, assigned to Engine Company 10 directly across the street from the World Trade Center complex, holds back tears and describes his first-hand experience on Sept. 11th in an emotive interview with We Are Change and Loose Change.

WATCH THE VIDEO INTERVIEW


9/11 Commission Ignored Firefighter's Account of Explosions Inside WTC
Schroeder's compelling testimony contradicts official story at every turn
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet
Thursday, August 9, 2007


Astounding and compelling testimony from a brave 9/11 firefighter that was ignored by the 9/11 Commission has added further weight to the already overwhelming evidence that the twin towers were brought down by means of explosives.

Firefighter John Schroeder, assigned to Engine Company 10 directly across the street from the World Trade Center complex, holds back tears and describes his first-hand experience on Sept. 11th in an emotive interview with We Are Change and Loose Change.

Much of Schroeder's testimony directly contradicts the official story and the 9/11 Commission, to which he spoke but was ignored.

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/august2007/090807_firefighters_account.htm

[red164]

The Republicans like this man are traitors they%u2019re the ones that pose the biggest threat to Americas constitution.

Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American conservative activist. He currently serves as president of anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform.

Norquist has been noted for his widely quoted quip: "I don't want to abolish government. I simply want to reduce it to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub.

Norquist has been close friends with Abramoff since college, when he ran Abramoff%u2019s successful campaign to become national chairman of the College Republicans.

[edit] Alleged links to radical Islamists and terrorism
In 1998, Norquist founded the Islamic Free Market Institute[18] (sometimes just called the "Islamic Institute") with money from a number of sources, mainly in the Middle East. One of the early major contributors was Abdurahman Alamoudi, the founder of the American Muslim Council. Alamoudi appears to have contributed $35,000 to the Islamic Institute.[19] Alamoudi was convicted of illegal dealings with Libya, tax, and immigration violations on July 30, 2004, and was sentenced to 23 years in jail.

Norquist has been linked to Florida professor and Muslim activist Sami Al-Arian. On March 2, 2006, Al-Arian pled guilty to one count of conspiracy "to make or receive contributions of funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad."