US presidential hopefuls fear 'nightmare' Pakistan crisis
DES MOINES, United States (AFP) — US White House hopefuls fretted Monday over the "nightmare" potential of the Pakistan crisis, as Democrats used the crackdown to pound President George W. Bush's "war on terror" policies.
Republicans meanwhile agonized over the threat of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of radical Islamist groups, should President Pervez Musharraf's government eventually fall.
Even before the weekend declaration of a state of emergency, Pakistan had already complained about its treatment in the 2008 campaign, accusing candidates of "point scoring" over its political fate.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton said she opposed Musharraf's move, but blamed much of the situation on the Bush administration's management of relations with its key anti-terror ally.
"I call on General Musharraf to cancel the state of emergency, restore the constitution, release arrested opposition leaders, and hold free and fair elections on schedule," she said in a statement.
"The failed policies of the Bush administration are part of the reason we are in this difficult and dangerous position," Clinton said.
Clinton's Democratic rival, John Edwards, said Monday the specter of another foreign policy crisis meant the United States should not risk sparking further instability by striking at Iran's nuclear program.
"America should be using our direct aid as well as our diplomatic arsenal as diplomatic sticks to defuse the situation in Pakistan and to restore stability and constitutionalism to Pakistan," he said in a statement.
Another Democrat, Bill Richardson, hoping to boost his hopes by stressing his foreign policy expertise, said on CNN Monday the Pakistan crisis added to US headaches with Iran and Iraq.
And the former US ambassador to the United Nations complained Islamabad had "not done as good a job as they should" as Washington's anti-terror partner, and called Bush's response to the crisis "very weak and ineffectual."
Mitt Romney, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, leading polls in key strategic states Iowa and New Hampshire, said Musharraf's actions were "troublesome," though added he would not withdraw US aid.
"I hope I'm wrong ... but I do not believe that by abandoning democratic principles you're going to strengthen the democratic underpinnings of a nation," Romney said while campaigning in Florida.
But asked whether US aid to be Pakistan should be cut off, Romney added: "No, no. The Pakistani military is working with us in key ways in Afghanistan, and I would not end that effort -- that's something critical to us."
Fred Thompson, a leading Republican candidate, worried about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, said he would use huge US economic aid to the Islamabad government as a lever to prod Musharraf back to democracy.
"We could face a real nightmare scenario by seeing these radical elements, or these terrorist sympathizers, take control of that government and have that nuclear capability," Thompson said on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday.
Republican Senator John McCain said in Iowa at the weekend he was troubled over the imposition of a state of emergency, highlighted the nuclear side of the equation and worried Islamist forces could oust Musharraf.
"If they gain control, we are going to have big problems in Afghanistan and the area," the Des Moines Register quoted him as saying.
It was not the first time Pakistan was thrust into the campaign.
In August, Democrat Barack Obama angered Islamabad when he said, if elected, he would order US forces to strike Al-Qaeda inside lawless Pakistani tribal areas near the Afghan border, if Musharraf failed to act.
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told AFP at the time that "these are serious matters and should not be used for point-scoring. Political candidates and commentators should show responsibility."
