MUSHARRAF IS A BETTER ALLY OF THE USA THAN OBAMA

YAHOO/AP:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that talk of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida in Pakistan only hurts the fight against terrorism, and his troops bombarded militant hideouts in their strongest response yet to a month of anti-government attacks. Ten suspected militants were killed.

The assault by artillery and helicopter gunships "knocked out" two compounds in Daygan village in the tribal belt near the border with Afghanistan that were being used as staging posts for attacks on security forces, said Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, the army's top spokesman.

Ten militants were killed and at least seven were wounded in the operation, about 10 miles west of Miran Shah, the main town in the North Waziristan region, he said.

No ground troops were used in the operation, and the report on militant casualties was based on information from "local sources," he said without elaborating.

There were at least four smaller-scale bombings and shootings in the border region Tuesday, the latest in almost daily violence that has intensified pressure on Musharraf to crack down on militants in the area.

Musharraf, a key ally in Washington's war against terrorism, told visiting Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that comments by senior U.S. officials and presidential hopefuls about the possibility of unilateral U.S. strikes within the country were not helpful. Musharraf met Durbin in the southern city of Karachi.

"He emphasized that only Pakistan's security forces, which were fully capable of dealing with any situation, would take counterterrorism action inside Pakistani territory," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"The president pointed out that certain recent U.S. statements were counterproductive to the close cooperation and coordination between the two countries in combating the threat of terrorism," the ministry said.

President Bush said Monday that America and Pakistan, if armed with good intelligence, could track and kill al-Qaida leaders in Pakistan. He stopped short of saying whether he would ask Musharraf before dispatching U.S. troops to the country.

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a presidential candidate, has said that he would use military force in Pakistan if necessary to root out terrorists, prompting angry responses from Pakistani officials.

Musharraf also described a new law tying U.S. aid to Pakistan to progress in combating militants as an "irritant in the bilateral relationship," the statement said.

I've long maintained that Musharraf is an okay ally - NOT PERFECT, but neither is FRANCE! On balance both are good allies, and Musharraf's position is much MUCH trickier. He needs our wiliest support, not public undercutting from hack politicians - like Obama!

DURBIN AND HIS CORRUPT CRONIE OBAMA SHOULD STOP AIDING THE ENEMY AND SHOULD START SUPPORTING USA POLICY AND OUR ALLIES.

BUT SINCE THEY'RE COMMITTED LEFTISTS, I SUPPOSE THAT'S TOO MUCH TO HOPE FOR!