Today's edition of The Washington Post has an article that illustrates the need for the U.S. to take a prudent approach in dealing with the political turmoil in Pakistan. The U.S. needs to be careful to assure that whomever emerges victorious (President Musharraf/Pakistan Military or Benazir Bhutto) will have an incentive to maintain and deepen the crucial bilateral relationship between Pakistan and the U.S if a co-existence/partnership between President Musharraf and Benazir Bhutto in guiding Pakistan's transition toward democratic governance cannot be achieved following the 2008 elections now scheduled for February 15. To publicly choose sides or try to "push" the outcome in which one party or the other is damaged can alienate one side or the other. Both parties are moderate. Weakening Pakistan's moderate elements can have adverse future consequences.

The newspaper reported on critical anti-terrorism cooperation between the U.S. and Pakistan. Excerpts follow:

But senior military officials have privately voiced concern that the unrest in Pakistan threatens to disrupt the plan's momentum -- both because of developments in Washington, where members of Congress seek to restrict aid, and in Islamabad, where the emergency rule has focused Pakistan's military on curbing popular dissent.

"There is a segment of the population on the Hill that hate Musharraf and are looking for any opportunity to cash in on this thing," said one senior military official. And during a visit to Pakistan last week, Adm. William J. Fallon, head of the U.S. Central Command, warned Musharraf that Congress could move to cut aid if he declared a state of emergency, the official said.

Top military leaders from both countries have reviewed the counterinsurgency plan, developed over the past year amid close cooperation between U.S. and Pakistani military officials.

The vice chief of the Pakistani army, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani -- considered a possible successor to Musharraf as head of the armed forces when Musharraf relinquishes his military role -- is supportive of the effort, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Fallon was briefed on the plan while in Pakistan, officials said...

In the days since Musharraf invoked emergency powers, senior U.S. military officers have spoken publicly about the need to safeguard and strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan. "We would certainly not want to see . . . jeopardized in any way" the "very valuable" cooperation between the two militaries, Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, said Wednesday. U.S. military officials in Islamabad, along with their Pakistani counterparts, Ham said, are "exploring a wide range of options that could improve operations" in the tribal areas, where Pakistani efforts have been "mixed."

The U.S. military also has a critical interest in preserving bilateral ties because it depends heavily on Pakistan to facilitate air and ground transit for more than half the fuel and other supplies for the 25,000 U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, U.S. officers said. Many military supplies go through the Pakistani port of Karachi, while fuel is trucked by Pakistani contractors over the mountain passes into Afghanistan. "We, obviously, are very interested in making sure that that stays open," Ham said.