Pakistan: Could It Be They're Both Right?

Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters:

PIECES FALLING INTO PLACE IN PAKISTAN

Earlier today, Pervez Musharraf named his successor as army chief of staff as he prepared to stand for election for the presidency he has held after a 1999 coup. Now he has apparently cinched a deal for the support of moderate Benazir Bhutto as the government officially granted the former Prime Minister amnesty against corruption allegations that Musharraf used as an excuse to grab power.

Gretchen Peters at The Blotter:

THROWING IN THE TOWEL IN PAKISTAN

As a widening political crisis distracts President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's army appears to be folding in the face of a mushrooming Taliban insurgency sweeping down from the Afghan border, diplomats and Western military officials say. "I am very concerned that they are sort of throwing in the towel because it's something the people don't support and since Musharraf is also on the ropes," a Western military official told ABC News.