General truly believes in democracy, says Bush

The comments, delivered in an interview with ABC News, contrasted with previous administration statements — including by Bush himself — expressing grave concern over Musharraf’s actions. In his first public comments on the crisis two weeks ago, Bush said his aides bluntly warned Musharraf that his Emergency measures “would undermine democracy.”

The shift on Tuesday appeared part of a broader strategy to ease the crisis in Pakistan. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte carried a terse message to Musharraf during talks this weekend. Now, following this strong personal show of support from the President, the Bush administration expects the general to shed his military uniform before the end of the month, according to an administration official. Several outside analysts and a key Democratic lawmaker expressed incredulity over Bush’s comments and saw them as a sign of how personally invested the president has become in the US relationship with Musharraf.

“What exactly would it take for the President to conclude Musharraf has crossed the line? Suspend the Constitution? Impose Emergency law? Beat and jail his political opponents?” asked Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential candidate.