Musharraf still the best bet for US: Prez hopeful

WASHINGTON: President Pervez Musharraf is the best bet for the US despite the turmoil in Pakistan but Washington must go after al-Qaeda unilaterally in that nation if it is in America's national interest, a leading Republican Presidential hopeful has suggested.

"It is in our best interest for there to be some stability. Right now Musharraf, despite some of the concerns we have about him, represents at least some level of security, more so than if he were ousted immediately", former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee said.

"I don't think it's in the US' best interest to try to get rid of him. I think Kayani being now in charge of the military is a good thing because, clearly, he's stable, he has a sterling reputation both as a military commander and as a person who is not so political, but I think will give an even hand to the military, which is something Pakistan has needed" he said on Meet The Press programme on NBC.

When asked about the implications of the unilateral intervention by US in Pakistani territory by destabilizing Musharraf, Huckabee said, "If it saves American lives, if it potentially takes out al-Qaeda's number one operative, that's a decision that a president would have to make. If I were sitting there as president, I would weigh all that information".

Justifying his case, former Arkansas Governor said, "Let me make sure that everybody understands, the number one job for the American president is to protect this country, to do every and anything that it can do to make sure that we don't see skyscrapers tumble to the ground in major cities like we did on September 11th.

"Whatever we must do to protect our sovereignty against those whose ideologies are so extreme that they would do something so cowardly and so dastardly as to take thousands of innocent lives in that kind of terrorist action, yes sir, you better believe that I'll do anything necessary", he said.
   
"I don't want to do it with disregard to what it might do in stabilisation of a nation. But sometimes, you have to look at all the risk and weigh heavily, but remember that your most single critical job is that of protecting and preserving the American people", Huckabee said.

Asked how soon into his (possible) presidency would he launch a strike in Pakistan, Huckabee replied "it would depend on how soon we had fixed a target."

Expressing apprehension over Pakistan's spending of US aid given to it, the top republican candidate said, "I don't think it (unilateral intervention) would be an effort to destabilise Musharraf government. I think what we do have to recognise is, we've spent over USD 10 billion in aid, and the purpose of that aid in Pakistan was to fight terrorism.

"Now, as we kind of look at where that money's spent, we realise that not that much of it has likely gone to fight terrorism in Pakistan. A lot of it has gone to their military for reasons that didn't have to do with terrorism", he said.