Bush's BFF Going Down

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf wooed and won President Bush shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the two leaders have been an international power couple ever since.

Even when Musharraf asserted dictatorial powers last fall, Bush maintained his devotion -- and kept billions in military aid coming.

But Musharraf's close association with Bush now appears to be contributing to his downfall.

Carlotta Gall and Jane Perlez write in the New York Times: "Pakistanis dealt a crushing defeat to President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections on Monday, in what government and opposition politicians said was a firm rejection of his policies since 2001 and those of his close ally, the United States. . . .

"The results were interpreted here as a repudiation of Mr. Musharraf as well as the Bush administration, which has staunchly backed him for more than six years as its best bet in the campaign against the Islamic militants in Pakistan. . . .

"Even as Mr. Musharraf's standing plummeted and the insurgency gained strength, senior Bush administration officials praised Mr. Musharraf as a valued partner in the effort against terrorism.

"With Mr. Musharraf as both president and head of the Pakistani military -- a post he relinquished last November -- the administration poured about $1 billion a year in military assistance into Pakistan after 9/11.

"After Mr. Musharraf stepped down from the army, the Bush administration still gave him unequivocal support. Last month, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia, Richard A. Boucher, told Congress he considered the Pakistani leader indispensable to American interests.

"Such fidelity to Mr. Musharraf often raised the hackles of Pakistanis, and the newspapers here were filled with editorials that expressed despair about Washington's close relationship with the unpopular leader."

Paul Wiseman and Zafar M. Sheikh write in USA Today that the election results "could leave Pakistan's next government facing intense public pressure to reduce its cooperation with the U.S. war on terrorism."

Jeremy Page and Zahid Hussain report for the Times of London that the new government could decide whether Musharraf "should be impeached for imposing emergency rule last year to secure his own re-election."

So with Musharraf on his way out, it's worth asking: What did Bush get in exchange for $10 billion in aid since 9/11, most of which went to Pakistan's military? Maybe not so much. As Joby Warrick and Robin Wright write in today's Washington Post, one of Washington's "rare victories these days in the fight against al-Qaeda inside Pakistan's national borders" recently came "without getting the government's formal permission beforehand."