>I really think I have stated my opinion enough times already, so plan for this to be my last post in this thread. In general I agree with about everything you say. However, I think this is a special case. Osama bin Laden and his top aides (well, other than those so-called #3's <g>) have been holed up in Pakistan for years now with the Pakistani government doing little or nothing about it. Yes, I sympathize in a way with the predicament Musharraf is in, and said that as long ago as the immediate aftermath of 9/11. Between the U.S. and Islamic fundamentalists in his own population he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nonetheless, he remains an obstacle to our objective. He won't help us, not really, so I neither call him an ally nor give a rip about his sovereignty.
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>I trust this obscures.

OK, then, just another precedent. A friendly dictator is not secure anymore, if he underperforms.