Truthdig - Ear to the Ground - Bush Says Musharraf ‘Hasn’t Crossed the Line’

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Bush Says Musharraf ‘Hasn’t Crossed the Line’

White House photo by Eric Draper

Just weeks after publicly fretting about Pervez Musharraf’s dictatorial power grab, George W. Bush has decided that the Pakistani president “hasn’t crossed the line” and “truly is somebody who believes in democracy.” It’s an assessment that would be comical if it didn’t have to do with the freedom of millions of people and the security of dozens of nuclear weapons.

Sen. Joe Biden took the words out of our mouths: “What exactly would it take for the president to conclude Musharraf has crossed the line? Suspend the constitution? Impose emergency law? Beat and jail his political opponents and human rights activists? ... He’s already done all that. If the president sees Musharraf as a democrat, he must be wearing the same glasses he had on when he looked in Vladimir Putin’s soul.”

Washington Post:

President Bush [Tuesday] offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general “hasn’t crossed the line” and “truly is somebody who believes in democracy.”

Bush spoke nearly three weeks after Musharraf declared emergency rule, sacked members of the Supreme Court and began a roundup of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Musharraf’s government [Tuesday] released about 3,000 political prisoners, although 2,000 remain in custody, according to the Interior Ministry.

The comments, delivered in an interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson, contrasted with previous administration statements—including by Bush himself—expressing grave concern over Musharraf’s actions. In his first public comments on the crisis two weeks ago, Bush said his aides bluntly warned Musharraf that his emergency measures “would undermine democracy.”

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TAGS: biden constitution democracy emergency freedom human rights musharraf nuclear pakistan

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By 1drees, November 23, 2007 at 4:53 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

S BELOW TO SEE
what is defined as a straight line for GWB

__/--\___/---------\______/--------\

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By Douglas Chalmers, November 21, 2007 at 10:08 pm #
(2932 comments total)

#115051 by A Khokar on 11/21 at 8:03 pm: “...Musharraf has put every thing at stake to save Pakistan..... May God save this land of my dreams and hope and glory; blood of many a patriots has gone into its soil to nurture it....”

So this is your sickness, AK. And its really disgusting too, uhh! Musharraf came to power through a military coup. He is nothing other than a dictator.

God can never “save (your) land” whilst you still presume that the “blood of many a patriots” could ever “nurture it”.

Your “glory” is your self-righteous madness and your “hopes” are that of a desperately pathetic ego. Its sadly the same with all nations who love war. Yugoslavia (Kosovo, 1990’s), the USA (1800’s), Japan (1940’s) and so on........ their blood will “nurture” the soil in vain.

Your presumptuous “Love for all, Hatred for none” is nothing more than a warped curse!!!

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By A Khokar, November 21, 2007 at 8:03 pm #
(109 comments total)

Dear friends,
There are many out there with the intent to destabilize this countryin order to throw Pakistan in anarchy and mayhem and grab the power.

Musharraf has put every thing at stake to save Pakistan from…destabilization.He is the man who will fight to the end.

Rest assured; Pakistan nukes are as safe or in… danger as of any other good country; like USA, UK or Israel.

May God save this land of my dreams and hope and glory; blood of many a patriots has gone into its soil to nurture it.
-----------------------------
Love for all, Hatred for none

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By thomas billis, November 21, 2007 at 12:25 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

The only thing to do is revive the old game show"What’s My Line”.What is Presidents Bush’s line of Dermocracy and what do you have to do cross it?I guess he is setting this country up for Pakistani democracy.What is the line for America?Many of us think it has been crossed.The Communists during the Cold War had elections did they cross the line?What a wonderful feeling it is that someone who has used the Constitution as toilet paper here is defining what we as Americans define as Democracy.It is no surprise to me that the rest of the world looks at us and thinks we are out of our minds.I am sure Geroge Bush would have stumped the panel on “What’s My Line?"No one could have figured out what the line is.

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By Eric L. Prentis, November 21, 2007 at 12:23 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

President Bush mistakenly saying that the confirmed Pakistani dictator Musharraf “Believes in Democracy” shows that President Bush is in complete denial and proves that he governs in a utter state of delusion concerning world events. This disconnect at the top of our government is not good for the United States.

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By purplewolf, November 21, 2007 at 11:58 am #
(567 comments total)

And Bushit complained about Kerry being a flip-flopper. Just what does he think he is, first he condemns the Muskrat, then embrace him, now if that’s not flip-flopping then the Decider is certainly undecided, as he changes by the second. What did the Cocaine Cowboy do, try some batch of ecstasy ? Of course he thinks Mushrat didn’t do anything out of line, Bushit has already planned much worse for the people in America.

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By Scott, November 21, 2007 at 11:18 am #
(215 comments total)

“I will send a strong delusion that they shall believe a lie”

Comic relief should never be under-rated.

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By Rodger Lemonde, November 21, 2007 at 10:37 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

This must be the line of things George would consider too wrong to do. Making nice while green with envy, what a guy.

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By lastdaywatchers, November 21, 2007 at 10:09 am #
(43 comments total)

“Did not President Bush say he has look into the eye of Iraq Prime Minister Al Maliki and saw a strong honest leader?

“I will send a strong delusion that they shall believe a lie”

Have not the Iraq central government been anything but weak?

Have not the Al Maliki government lied about everything with regard to all of the key benchmark issues?

All at the cost of American blood who are now bleeding to death!

The U.S. will continue to bleed almost to the point of death in term of resources, military capabilities, influence, money and blood just as the May 15th Prophecy has declared.

Thus saith the Lord

“You shall be troublesome to the nations, you shall be unsuccessful in everything you do, and you shall only be robbed and plundered continually”

Did not President Bush look unto the eye of Pakistan President Musharraf and find him to be a solid partner in the “war on terror”?

“I will send a strong delusion that they shall believe a lie”
”

That is a excerpt from the May 15th ProphecyThat was posted on NOV 5th

You should do a Google search of the May 15th Prophecy

And You will see that it has been the only source that has been 100% accurate on what happening in the Middle East.

Or go to http://lastdaywatchers.blogspot.com/

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By michael, November 21, 2007 at 7:48 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Does anyone else see this as the model bush and company will use to do the same thing here ???? Martial law throw out law makers or reps that don’t see things your way. All in the name of saving democracy. Give me nightmares.

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By jatihoon, November 21, 2007 at 7:44 am #
(147 comments total)

Birds of same feather flocks togather. Mush and bush, one self appointed president and another court appointed president. Both autocratic and arrogant.And I thought Bible said “meek will rule the world”.

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By TDoff, November 21, 2007 at 7:43 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Pervez stated that Bush ‘Hasn’t crossed the line’.

What this proves about these two lying dictators, or wanna-be dictators, I’m not sure, except that they think alike.

If I were Pervez, that would cause me great concern.

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By Verne Arnold, November 21, 2007 at 7:18 am #
(494 comments total)

The thing we don’t realize is; we’re getting the best lessons possible, from the master of obfuscation…the shrub. Why, Spiro Agnew was a piker when it came to obfuscation; the shrub is the undisputed master of this, along with Cheney of course.
So, when bush says Pervez Musharraf hasn’t crossed the line; we need to ask what line is he talking about…the crosswalk, the stop sign line, the moral line, the fascist line, etc., etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum………..blah, blah, blah, blah, blah………………………………………….
Our appetite for bullshit is never ending as is our apathy.

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By Douglas Chalmers, November 21, 2007 at 7:03 am #
(2932 comments total)

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are already under American control even as analysts are working themselves into a lather on the subject, a well-regarded intelligence journal has said.....

In a stunning disclosure certain to stir up things in Washington’s (and in Islamabad and New Delhi’s) strategic community, the journal Stratfor reported on Monday that the “United States delivered a very clear ultimatum to Musharraf in the wake of 9/11: Unless Pakistan allowed US forces to take control of Pakistani nuclear facilities, the United States would be left with no choice but to destroy those facilities, possibly with India’s help......

“As the government of Pakistan totters, we must face a fact: the United States simply could not stand by as a nuclear-armed Pakistan descended into the abyss,” proposed Frederick Kagan and Michael O’Hanlon, analysts at two Washington DC think-tanks. “One possible plan would be a Special Forces operation with the limited goal of preventing Pakistan’s nuclear materials and warheads from getting into the wrong hands."..." http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/The_United_St ates/Pak_nukes_already_under_US_control_Report/rssarticlesh ow/2556824.cms

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By Tom Doff, November 21, 2007 at 6:42 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

I’ll bet Pervez would say the same thing about Bush, that he ‘hasn’t crossed the line’.

All that proves is that they are both lying dictators, or at least dictator wanna-be’s.

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By Leefeller, November 21, 2007 at 6:07 am #
(1233 comments total)

Decider line, means defined by decider!

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