US Senate delegation meets Pakistan's Musharraf

[Rose Siding]

ISLAMABAD (AFP) - A US Senate delegation left Pakistan after meeting President Pervez Musharraf to discuss bilateral relations and Pakistan's role in the fight against terrorism, officials said.

US Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told reporters after the meeting late Tuesday that Washington wanted to see a consolidation of civilian democratic rule in Pakistan, a key US ally in the global war on terror.

"The US government, and our Congress are very interested in, which is indeed a global interest, seeing civilian democratic rule as soon as possible," The Nation daily quoted Frist as saying.

But Frist said the delegation did not raise the controversy over Musharraf's broken promise to drop his position as army chief with the president himself.
...
"We did not discuss specifically, although before coming here there were some concerns on the reversal of his earlier promise. We probably should have brought it up."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20050112/pl_afp/pakistanusmusharraf

[pinto]

1. "The US Gov't...is very interested in seeing civilian democratic rule" BUT

"we did not discuss (it) specifically..." ? WTF? What did you do, Sen Frist? Discuss our military aid package to one of the areas only nuclear powers? Reminisce about Osama bin Forgotten? Hello? Frist?