Bhutto Leaves Villa As House Arrest Ends

Officials Say State Of Emergency To End In A Month; U.S. Keeps Aid Flowing To Musharraf

(CBS/AP)  Pakistan quickly ended house arrest for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday and she left her home hours later as President Gen. Pervez Musharraf came under new U.S. pressure to end a crackdown that Washington fears is hurting the fight against Islamic extremism.

Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum told The Associated Press that the country's "state of emergency will end within one month." He provided no further details and would not say when a formal announcement might come.

A week ago, Musharraf declared the state of emergency and suspended the constitution, citing gains by extremists in Pakistan's frontier region and saying political unrest was undermining the fight against militants.

On Friday, police threw up barbed wire around Bhutto's house to keep her from speaking at a rally to protest Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, and security forces rounded up thousands of her supporters to block any mass demonstrations.

The action was a new blow to hopes the two U.S.-friendly leaders could form an alliance against militants - a rising threat underlined by a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan that targeted the home of a Cabinet minister, who escaped without injury.

Bhutto twice tried to evade authorities in her car, telling police who surrounded her villa: "Do not raise hands on women. You are Muslims. This is un-Islamic." Officers blocked the former prime minister's way with an armored vehicle.

After being turned back the second time, she got out of the car and joined her supporters, who chanted, "Go, Musharraf, go!"

"I want to tell you to have courage because this battle is against dictatorship and it will be won by the people," Bhutto said as police stood guard nearby.

But on Saturday, officials said she could leave her home.

"She is now free to go anywhere," said Naeem Iqbal, the police chief for the upscale sector of the capital, Islamabad, where Bhutto lives.

Later Saturday, Bhutto left her home. Her destination wasn't immediately known, but a spokeswoman earlier said she would meet with foreign diplomats and party colleagues.

In Rawalpindi, the nearby garrison town where she had hoped to stage the rally, police fired tear gas at hundreds of Bhutto loyalists who staged wildcat protests and hurled stones. More than 100 were arrested.

Plainclothes teams of police darted to grab those on wanted lists and shove them into paddy wagons, reports CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar. Young, old, parliamentarians, party officials, men, women - anyone who dared to take a political stand today against Pakistan's military leader was dragged away.

"It's a nation's historical moment," said Naheed Shazhad, a candidate for parliament. "It's to change history in our country."

That statement to the cameras was enough to have the police descend upon her.

Police reportedly rounded up 5,000 of her supporters.

The Bush administration called for the restrictions on Bhutto to be lifted, as Pentagon leaders voiced concern that the political turmoil will undercut the Pakistani army's fight against insurgents along the Afghanistan border. Pakistan's government said late Friday that she was again free to move about.

The U.S. was relying on a marriage of convenience blossoming between Bhutto and Musharraf to help ease the transition to democracy, MacVicar said. The honeymoon hadn't even begun, and she accused him of betrayal when he put her under detention.

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim said that the restraining order against Bhutto told her to stay at her Islamabad home and not proceed to Rawalpindi because of the security threat. The city mayor said they had reports suicide bombers might attack the rally.

Kamal Shah, a top Interior Ministry official, said a district magistrate had served a "detention order" on Bhutto so she could not leave her home. Rehman, however, said no arrest papers had been served on Bhutto.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that officials did try to serve arrest papers to Bhutto, but she refused to take them and went back inside. According to the BBC report, the detention order is valid for 30 days.

Speaking by phone from the scene, Bhutto said that no arrest papers had been served on her.

"If I'm arrested the People's Party of Pakistan workers will continue to fight for democracy and the rule of law," she told reporters who heard the call via speakerphone.

Early Saturday, about 20 police - far fewer that the day before - loitered at the end of the street leading to her home, pulling metal barriers aside to let other residents pass.

Meanwhile, a bomb explosion at the home of a government minister in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed at least four people, police said.

The attack happened at the residence of the minister for political affairs, Amir Muqam, and also wounded three people, said Aslam Khan, a local police official.

Muqam said he saw two or three dead in the blast - members of his security staff. Police said the bombing was a suicide attack.

U.S. Says Musharraf's Actions Won't Immediately Jeopardize Aid

Despite the calls for a return to democratic order in Pakistan, the Bush administration has concluded it is not legally required to cut or suspend the hundreds of millions of dollars in aid currently going to Pakistan, despite President Musharraf's imposition of a state of emergency and a crackdown on the opposition and independent media.

U.S. assistance to its key anti-terrorism (and nuclear armed) ally, which has totaled nearly $10 billion since 2001, is governed by numerous legislative requirements that could trigger automatic aid cutoffs, but all are covered by locked-in presidential waivers, according to officials.

Those waivers exempt Pakistan from aid restrictions, and do not need to be renewed until Congress approves the pending budget for the current fiscal year. That budget requests $845 million for Pakistan.

"No one at this point believes there is anything automatic that has to kick in," said one senior official. "The waivers are valid until Congress gets around to passing the fiscal '08 budget."

The initial findings do not mean that aid to Pakistan will never be cut, only that there is currently no statutory reason to do so.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Robert Gates voiced concern that the political turmoil there will undermine the Pakistani army's fight against terrorism.

"The concern I have is that the longer the internal problems continue, the more distracted the Pakistani army and security services will be in terms of the internal situation rather than focusing on the terrorist threat in the frontier area," he told reporters earlier Friday on his plane en route home from a weeklong visit to Asia.

To date, the Pentagon has said the unrest has had no effect on U.S. military operations. But Gates' comments underscored the administration's nervousness, even as it voices support for Musharraf as an ally in the war on terror.

[trueprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE NEW WAY
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.

[terrorislam5]

The Death of a University

how social progressives killed a great university

The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstdtt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law and medicine, all of which were contained in the Hoheschule (''high school''). The university was modeled after the University of Vienna, and its chief goal was the propagation of the Christian faith. The university closed its doors in May of 1800, by order of the Prince-elector Maximilian IV (later Maximilian I, King of Bavaria).
The 1700s gave rise to the Enlightenment, a movement that was opposed to the church-run universities of which Ingolstadt was a prime example. The Jesuits gradually left the university as it sought to change with the times, until the university finally had become so secular that the greatest influence in Ingolstadt was Adam Weishaupt, founder of the secret society of the Illuminati. On November 25, 1799, the elector Maximilian IV announced that the university''s depleted finances had become too great a weight for him to bear: the university would be moved to Landshut as a result. The university finished that year''s school term, and left Ingolstadt in May of 1800, bringing to a quiet end the school that had, at its peak, been one of the most influential and powerful institutes of higher learning in Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Ingolstadt

[realpatriot1]

AJMarine1,

Bhutto has also stated publically that she will allow U.S. troops to pursue AQ within Pakastani territory.

That should keep the little buggers on the defensive and prevent them exploiting the situation.

I''m not foolish enough to think that there won''t be car bombs and a cewrtain level of violence regardless of how this plays out.

What makes Pakastan unlikely to spin out of control like Iraq is that Bhutto is determined to agressively take on the Jihadists, not co-opt them into her government like Maliki and Musharif, and she has the popular support for that.

The longer the elections are postponed the greater the opportunity for terrorists to get their hands on nuclear material.

Too bad Brewster & Jennings cover was blown. The CIA won''t be able to monitor the situation thanks to the White House neo-cons.

[trueprophet]

CLINTON GIVES PRESIDENT DICTATOR POWERS
With the full support of Senators Clinton, Obama and McCain, President Bush recently signed into Law the John Warner Defense Authorization Act, which, according to Senator Leahy (VT), will actually "encourage the President to declare Martial Law." It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a Laws which limits the President''s ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act, helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic Law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush has now undone all of those prohibitions. The John Warner Defense Authorization Act, which was signed by the President in an unpublicized ceremony, allows the President to declare a "public emergency," suspend Congress; The Constitution; and to take control of state-based National Guard units without the consent of your Governor or local authorities, in order to "suppress public disorder." President Bush seized this unprecedented power on the very same day that he signed the equally odious Military Commissions Act. The two Laws compliment one another. One allows for torture and detention abroad of those who dissent and are stripped of their citizenship, while the other seeks to enforce acquiescence at home by allowing the President to order the military onto our streets in a domestic Law enforcement role, which is already being done. Vote for Liberty. Vote for Ron Paul.

[trueprophet]

DEMOCRATS HOODWINKED BY HILLARY
Sadly, even though Clinton voted for the war in Iraq, and a host of Laws aimed at removing civil liberties, Democrats are so blinded by her cult of personality that I predict they will overwhelmingly vote to put her crime family back into office. While I''ve made some progress in educating Liberals as to the phony staged consensus of the left-right paradigm, the fact remains that a majority of Democrats still see the White House as some kind of political Super Bowl, where the success of their "team" is the be all and end all - to the expense of America as a whole. The Punch and Judy show theater that was the "troop surge" debate in the Senate characterizes Hillary''s role in hoodwinking Americans perfectly. The debate is framed as not whether the U.S. should get out of the Middle-East altogether, but the relative minutia of whether to feed thousands of more troops into the meat grinder or not. A Clinton presidency will mean more war, more dead Americans, and a further desecration of the tattered shreds of what''s left of our Constitution. Clinton is the ultimate global elitist and represents the Democrats supposed base: the poor and downtrodden, about as much as Lindsay Lohan represents grace and dignity. I''m sure she informed the likes of David Rockefeller and Queen Beatrix as to her presidential aspirations during her last visit to attend the Bilderberger conference. Vote for a REAL AMERICAN who fights against one world government. Vote for Ron Paul.

[trueprophet]

RON PAUL FAVORS NON-INTERVENTIONIST FOREIGN POLICY
All of the other presidential candidates wants to continue our illegal police action in Iraq indefinitely, and they do not rule out a preemptive (nuclear) first strike against Iran. Conversely, Ron Paul voted against our (undeclared) war in Iraq, which was sold to us with lies. The area is more dangerous now than when we entered it. We destroyed a regime hated by our direct enemies--the jihadists, and created thousands of new recruits for them. The war in Iraq has cost more than 3,500 American lives and almost a trillion dollars. We need a leader in the White House who will ensure this never happens again. Both Jefferson and Washington warned us about entangling ourselves in the affairs of other nations. Today, we have 750 foreign bases and troops in 130 countries. We are spread so thin that we have too few troops defending America. And now, there are new calls for a draft. We can continue to fund and fight no-win police actions around the globe, or we can refocus on securing our borders against illegal aliens who are invading us from the South. No war should ever be fought without a Declaration of War voted upon by the Congress, as required by The Constitution. Under no circumstances should the U.S. again go to war as the result of a resolution that comes from an unelected, foreign body, such as the United Nations. Too often, we give foreign aid and intervene on behalf of governments that are despised. Then, we become despised.

[terrorislam5]

fascist nazi terrorislam is not about freedom fighting, it is about killing and enslaving non muslims

the war that fascist nazi terrorislamic muslims started rages on 1400 years later,,,

The Truth about Islamic Crusades and Imperialism

Historical facts say that Islam has been imperialistic%u2014and would still like to be, if only for religious reasons. Many Muslim clerics, scholars, and activists, for example, would like to impose Islamic law around the world. Historical facts say that Islam, including Muhammad, launched their own Crusades against Christianity long before the European Crusades.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/11/the_truth_about_islamic_crusad.html
http://www.americanthinker.com/2004/08/the_muslim_crusades.html

the truth about fascist nazi terrorislam...
http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/

Islamic origins
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/pdf/compass/hico_058.pdf

Origin of Islam
http://www.allaboutreligion.org/origin-of-islam.htm
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Origin+of Islam%3A Secular History

[harp1963]

Pray the Rosary. Even if you are unworthy.

Luke 1:41-48
41 And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: 42 And she cried out with a loud voice, and said: Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord.

46 And Mary said: My soul doth magnify the Lord. 47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. 48 Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold from henceforth ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED.


Amazing that something written some 2000 years ago saying "all generations shall call me blessed" has actually been followed by all generations calling His Mother blessed. She made this statement with Him inside of Her, totally incapabible of telling even a half truth.

[ajmarine1]

The truth of that matter is that the "terrorists" are not terrorists at all, that is Bush''''s catch all phrase for anyone who dares actively resist US hegemony

Posted by brianbwb at 02:24 AM : Nov 10, 2007


Maybe he should just call them "people who don''t like us for whatever reason."

Pakistan is like Lebanon, they have states within them, the Pastuns(?), Al Qaeda, and Taliban in Pak. and Hezballah, Syria (maybe), and Iran (maybe) in Leb.; both countries have hard choices to make for their future.

[brianbwb-2009]

You go Benazir. Civil disobidience against abusers of power doesn''''t mean YOU have problems. It means you are getting to taste the cross of the carpenter who stood up to the Scribes and Pharisees.
Posted by harp1963

The best thing we could do for the world right now is to take up our own cross of civil disobedience against abusers of power in our own country.

[harp1963]

P.S. What a blessing!

[harp1963]

You go Benazir. Civil disobidience against abusers of power doesn''t mean YOU have problems. It means you are getting to taste the cross of the carpenter who stood up to the Scribes and Pharisees.

[brianbwb-2009]

"The West is desperate to bring Benazir Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf into a loveless marriage so the general can combat terrorists and the lady can play democracy," says journalist and historian Ahmed Rashid. Posted by AJMarine1

The truth of that matter is that the "terrorists" are not terrorists at all, that is Bush''s catch all phrase for anyone who dares actively resist US hegemony. It has worked it''s way so deep into the media coverage that it has no meaning anymore, anyone who dare tells Bush "no" is instantly labeled "Al Qaeda",(like "AQ in Iraq") "extremist", "Jihad", or simply "terrorist".

This was a lesson from Reagan''s "freedom fighters" (you remember them, don''t you, the terrorists Reagan was backing against anti colonial Central American countries).

[ajmarine1]

Posted by brianbwb at 02:12 AM : Nov 10, 2007


I hear what you are saying. I don''t know how Musharraf has stayed in power for so long; he is a dictator in a democracy.

Biden compared Pakistan to Iran of the 70''s; some similarities. All I know is Pakistain is at a crossroads in the life of the their country and I hope they make the right choices

[brianbwb-2009]

"If Musharraf is forced out in this power struggle and the army returns to the barracks, there will be a power vacuum %u2014 a vacuum that Al-Qaeda and its fellow militants will fill with suicide bombs and the blood of ordinary Pakistanis. That is what is at stake.
Posted by AJMarine1"

A dangerously incorrect assumption, the power vacuum you refer to does not exist, you mistakenly (or purposely, if you are a bush supporter) ignore that Benazir Bhutto, right now the most popular leader in Pakistan, and certainly no friend of the extremists, will take over the post of president by popular acclaim. Continuing to actively prop up Musharraf will only turn more people against the US.

I doubt if you would accept another country forcing their choice of president on you, the Pakistanis deserve the same consideration.

As for terrorislam5, or Lars008, as he was once posting, It is clear that he is simply a war/death worshiper, who sees everyone as an enemy to be killed, there is no point wasting reason on a troll.

[michaelt302]

www.jihadwatch.org
Read it daily. Be informed. Learn all about Islam and the dangers it presents. You''ll be glad you did.

[terrorislam5]

BE AFRAID,,, BE VERY AFRAID,,,

PICTURE FASCIST NAZI GERMANY WITH NUKES,,,

WAKE UP! The Crisis in Pakistan Is Much More Dangerous Than You Think
Musharraf''''s Emergency Crackdown Is Anathema to Everyone Who Cherishes Human Rights and Democracy. But His Grip on Power Is Slipping Just as Islamic Extremists Are Escalating Their Bloody Insurgency. If They Succeed in Overthrowing Musharraf and Seizing Power, al-Qaida Will Gain Access to Pakistan''''s Nuclear Weapons.
http://www.skeeterbitesreport.com/2007/11/wake-up-crisis-in-pakistan-is-much-more.html

Iran could have nukes by 2009
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380749027&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

[ajmarine1]

The mid-February election promise is a straightforward attempt to head off Benazir Bhutto%u2019s threat of mass demonstrations and bring her back on board as an ally. In that sense, she has scored a tactical victory even if for the moment she says it is not enough %u2014 but that is part of the bargaining process. Nonetheless, the idea that elections will bring peace is a delusion. The fate of the country%u2019s democratic and legal institutions is no longer the prime issue. It is whether Pakistan can avoid descending into a mess.

If Musharraf is forced out in this power struggle and the army returns to the barracks, there will be a power vacuum %u2014 a vacuum that Al-Qaeda and its fellow militants will fill with suicide bombs and the blood of ordinary Pakistanis. That is what is at stake.

[diplomacy3]

The concern I have is that the longer the internal problems continue, the more distracted the Pakistani army and security services will be in terms of the internal situation rather than focusing on the terrorist threat in the frontier area," Gates told reporters while flying home from a weeklong visit to Asia.

Willy-nilly I am the President. He does not accept anything less than that, come what may. He has become the most hated President in Pakistan and abroad. The game is nearing end!

[diplomacy3]

The concern I have is that the longer the internal problems continue, the more distracted the Pakistani army and security services will be in terms of the internal situation rather than focusing on the terrorist threat in the frontier area," Gates told reporters while flying home from a weeklong visit to Asia.

Willy-nilly I am the President. He does not accept anything less than that, come what may. He has become the most hated President in Pakistan and abroad. The game is nearing end!