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The political crisis in Pakistan escalated as the pair of rivals that the State Department had hoped would work together arrived at loggerheads. Pervez Musharraf, the army general turned martial law president, declared: "This reconciliation effort has gone into the thin air." Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister confined under house arrest in Lahore, demanded of Musharraf: "Leave. Simply leave." Although it was the Story of the Day, none of the networks led with Pakistan. Both ABC and NBC chose economic stories--gasoline prices and the stock market respectively. CBS, which had a larger newshole (25 min v ABC 18, NBC 19) thanks to the sole sponsorship of Pfizer's Celebrex brand, kicked off with new NIH brain scan research into Attention Deficit Disorder.

ABC's Dan Harris and CBS' Sheila MacVicar both covered the Bhutto angle from Lahore. NBC's Richard Engel was in Islamabad, where he was granted a sitdown with Musharraf. The general offered his media criticism: "Unfortunately in your media in the West you are impressed if, instead of a gent, there is a lady. Very good! And if she speaks very good English, very good! And if she happens also to be good looking, well, even better!" Musharraf blasted Bhutto's "totally confrontationist mode…she distorts facts and reality." As for his own ideology, he portrayed himself as patriot first, democrat second: "There is a clash between democracy and the stability of the country. The country is more important than anything else."

ABC's Harris saw "serious trouble" for what he called the "US-sponsored marriage of convenience between a Harvard-educated former prime minister with a reputation for corruption and a military dictator disinclined to share power." And CBS' MacVicar cautioned us not to view Bhutto as the heroine of this drama. She reminded us that Bhutto had been "twice dismissed for corruption and incompetence." On the streets of Lahore "for every rapturous supporter we have seen, we have watched dozens stand indifferent to Bhutto or turn their backs." Yet her unpopularity does not redound to his benefit: "There is no question the general is much weakened."

Andrew Tyndall 11/14/07 9:21:50 pm

mullah cimoc say tribal elders in waziristan all say same thing.

look like benazir working as agent in place for western intel. cia and british seeking to depose musharaff (or chastize severely him ) for refuse commiting the war crime against him tribal people in NWFP.

this walking coup all the concoct in washington dc and him cia agent write the script.

neocon spy in whitehouse and pentagon him wanting benazir for puppet while cia control all and mass the murder of the tribes.

usa media so control for keep usa people the ignorant. but usa be punish even now. him daughter take the LBT (low back tattoo) and slut have him sex with every man, even usa gang member. this the true punish for ameriki let wicked to killing so many him muslim.

for see slut pic of benazir click on this link:

http://www.kevo.com/profile/benazirbhutto/media/21747
- mullah cimoc (guest) 11-15-2007 12:55 am

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