President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan tried to convince President Bush on Friday that a deal he approved with tribal leaders in one of the country’s most lawless border areas would rid the areas of Qaeda and Taliban influence, rather than give the groups more freedom to operate.

Mr. Bush and his national security aides were clearly skeptical, according to administration officials, but at a news conference, Mr. Bush appeared to take General Musharraf’s assurances at face value. General Musharraf knew that there were enough questions in the air about the accord that he felt compelled to explain that “this deal is not at all with the Taliban; as I said, this is against the Taliban, actually.”

I'm sure that's just what he was telling the mullahs across the negotiating table. To the extent his statement is true, it is of this nature: "If you would be so kind as to refrain from the use of the words "Taliban" and "Qaeda" in your written correspondence, telephone calls, emails, IM sessions, etc., that would really help me out. TIA, Mushy :)"

General Musharraf, who has a book coming out on Monday ...

I read that and thought, Whaa?

Indeed, Musharraf's book, In the Line of Fire: A Memoir, is currently at #46 on the Amazon top sellers list. Among books in pre-order status, it's #9. Among non-fiction pre-orders, it's #4.

Update: The book is now at #41.
Update #2: As of opening day, the book is at #12 overall.

I found this amusing:

General Musharraf said the agreement had "three bottom lines."

But not as amusing as this exchange:

When asked about the issue at the East Room news conference, General Musharraf refused to answer the question — not on national security grounds, but on the grounds that it would violate his book contract. “I am launching my book on the 25th, and I am honor-bound to Simon & Schuster not to comment on the book before that day,” he said.

After laughter subsided, Mr. Bush said, “In other words, buy the book.”

Presumably it's Bush's recommendation that has propelled the book to its present status. Still, they're no match for the duo of Chomsky and Chavez.

For the backstory on this exchange, see this; the "issue" mentioned above is the alleged threat issued by the US to Pakistan in the wake of 9/11.

As ever, I got as much out of the last sentence in a story as the first:

On Thursday, asked if he knew the whereabouts of Mr. bin Laden, Mr. Karzai smiled and said: “If I said he was in Pakistan, President Musharraf would be mad at me. And if I said he was in Afghanistan, it would not be true.”

Musharraf Defends Deal With Tribal Leaders