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Musharraf or Bhutto? Bush Decision Looms

Power-sharing deal off, Washington will likely have to pick sides

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Nov 20, 2007 1:00 PM CST
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(Newser) – As Pakistan's state of emergency wears on, the Bush administration is still hedging its bets on whether to withdraw support for Pervez Musharraf, Bloomberg reports. But now that a power-sharing deal with Benazir Bhutto is almost surely off the table, Bush may no longer be able to support both sides—and the White House is realizing that the general's time might be up.

Washington remains anxious about Bhutto, whose two premierships were seen as ineffectual and who supported the Taliban in the mid-'90s. Yet more and more the Bush administration thinks it might not be getting its money's worth by backing Musharraf. Said one former official, "We have allowed him for eight years to give lip service to a return to civilian rule, but deliver relatively little."

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with media outside her home after being released from house arrest in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with media outside her home after being released from house arrest in Lahore, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)   (Associated Press)
President Bush shakes hands with Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in this Sept. 22, 2006 file photo.
President Bush shakes hands with Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in this Sept. 22, 2006 file photo.   (Associated Press)
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with employees of Geo Television network outside their offices in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday Nov. 19, 2007. Geo TV news broadcasts were shut down after a call by the Emirati government under heavy pressure from Paksitan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with employees of Geo Television network outside their offices in Karachi, Pakistan on Monday Nov. 19, 2007. Geo TV news broadcasts were shut down after...   (Associated Press)
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with reporters prior to her departure for Karachi, at Allama Iqbal International airport in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/K M Chaudary)
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto speaks with reporters prior to her departure for Karachi, at Allama Iqbal International airport in Lahore, Pakistan on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007. (AP Photo/K M...   (Associated Press)
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Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • Benazir Bhutto • state of emergency • George W. Bush

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