Meanwhile, Back in Washington . . .

• Pakistan, a major front in President Bush's War on Terror (some would say it's the front), is in turmoil. Right now, a state of emergency declared by President Pervez Musharraf has brought crackdowns on protesters and shutting down the opposition media, in a last-ditch attempt to hold on to power. See, Musharraf's approval ratings in his country are on a par with Bush's in this one. Unlike W., the Pakistani leader has the military on his side, refusing to let go in the face of upcoming elections there (which he promises will take place). Getting almost as much attention is opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister who is under house arrest to prevent her from leading demonstrations to protest the regime. Bhutto's being portrayed in the international media as the savior of her country, if you choose to overlook her corrupt past and the indictments hanging over her head. The United States had a history during the Cold War of backing dictators based on the rationale of "Well, at least they're not Communist" while their people suffer. In the case of Musharraf, that can be updated to "Well, at least they don't support terrorism". So the White House, along with the rest of us, will just have to wait and see how all this plays out in a country where nuclear weapons and Osama bin Laden are believed to be.
• The White House has also been making noise about picking a fight with Iran over its nuclear program. When you already have two wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan, costing at least a trillion dollars while vetoing social programs passed by a Democratic Congress, it's irresponsible for Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney to conjure up visions of World War III when their own terms are up just over a year from now. They're great at starting wars. But not so great at getting out of them.
• The new Attorney General is Michael Mukasey, whose views on the practice of waterboarding are still unknown despite an intense grilling by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Apparently, the culture of torturing your enemy and spying on your neighbor has been passed from John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales to Mukasey.