News:President Musharraf Promises To Hold Elections

Source: Reuters

The Pakistani government said on Monday it would hold a national election by mid-January, as it came under pressure from the United States for imposing emergency rule and detaining lawyers and opposition politicians.

U.S. President George W. Bush, who values Musharraf as an ally in his battle against al Qaeda and the Taliban, called for a quick return to civilian rule and the release of hundreds of detainees rounded up since Saturday.President Pervez Musharraf's decision to suspend the constitution and purge the Supreme Court has unleashed a torrent of international criticism.

Attorney General Malik Abdul Qayyum told Reuters "It has been decided there would be no delay in the election and by November 15, these assemblies (national and provincial) will be dissolved and elections will be held within the next 60 days."

Some Pakistanis believe Musharraf's main motive in declaring emergency rule was to pre-empt the Supreme Court's ruling on his re-election.But security has deteriorated since July, when commandos stormed Islamabad's Red Mosque to crush an armed Islamist movement. Since then nearly 800 people have been killed in militant-linked violence, half of them by suicide attacks,including the attack on Benazir Bhutto.

Qazi Hussein Ahmed, leader of the main Islamist opposition party, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), was taken into custody on Monday. Authorities had already rounded up 600-700 JI supporters in southern and central provinces overnight.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Musharraf should quit the army and become a civilian leader, and hold the elections as scheduled.The United States put future aid to Pakistan under review, having provided $10 billion in the past five years, and postponed defence talks with Pakistan due this week.Britain also warned Pakistan on future funding.

News: Sen Edwards A 'Preventative War Doctrine' Is 'Ridiculous And Dangerous'

Source: USA Today

Democratic presidential contender John Edwards attcked Sen. Hillary Clinton "is voting like a hawk in Washington, while talking like a dove in Iowa and New Hampshire." John Edward's in a recent television debate rounded on the front runner's foreign policy by accusing her of being 'hawkish' and not being strait with the electorate on Iran.

He also attack Clinton and her ties to lobbyists as part of a corrupt Washington system that voters should reject in the presidential election.

He also continued his attack on the Bush-Cheney policy of "preventative war doctrine." He was quoted as saying "After 9/11, instead of focusing on the terrorist threat, George Bush started promoting a radical new neoconservative doctrine he called, quote, "preventive war," -- which would soon become part of his argument for war in Iraq."

He went further and added "But there is a difference between doing everything in our power to keep America safe and a reckless, belligerent policy that actually makes us less safe. The preventive war doctrine was a stunning departure from the policy that had kept America safe during both world wars and during the Cold War. It is wrong on the merits, wrong on the morals, and wrong for America."

"Think about it -- you don't prevent wars by starting them. It would be ridiculous if it weren't so dangerous."

"George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the neocon warmongers used 9/11 to start a war with Iraq and now they're trying to use Iraq to start a war with Iran. And we have to stop them. ...As a nation, we stand today at a fork in the road with Iran. We have a real choice about the direction we'll take. One path will replay the last seven years. It leads toward a dark future of belligerence, aggression, and war."

His pitch was seen as a pitch to the left/liberal wing of the Democrat Party, which is undergoing its internal debates to nominate the Presidential Nomination he outlined his foreign policy plan pledge as:

-End the "preventive war" doctrine.

-Use bolder and more targeted economic sanctions.

-Reengage with Iran.

-Reengage with other major nations on the challenge of Iran.

However he failed to expand on his alternative policies in the debate.