Adil Najam
Just got hold of a list of major media appearances that Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be making as part of his book tour to promote In The Line of Fire: A Memoir. The book is publsihed by Simon and Schuster which will be handing much of the book tour, although it is clear that he will be asked about and will speak about much more than just the book.
(BTW, there is also a White House meeting with President Bush on Friday; so Gen. Musharraf will remain busy).
ATP had alreday written about the general’s appearance on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show, and we have a ccurrently ongoing ATP Poll on Grading Gen. Musharraf’s Performance in office. I am sure there will be other appearances too, but here is a list of the key ones.
Sept. 24: 60 Minutes
Sept. 25: NBC’s Today Show
Sept. 26: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Sept. 27: NPR’s Morning Edition
Oct. 1: NBC’s Meet The Press
Although there are always surprises, those familiar with the US media landscape would agree that one could express the toughest questions on Meet The Press with Tim Russert and The Dialy Show with Jon Stewart. The Today Show and Morning Edition appearances are more likely to focus on the ‘softer’ and more personal questions. 60 Minutes can go eitehr way, depending on who is interviewing him, but is likely to be a mix of personal and political issues.
Also heard on the internet that the ghost writer for the book is Humayun Gauhar. I am not at all sure if this is true or not. If this is, in fact, true that would be something. Humayun Gauhar is another ‘PR maven’, and son of Ayub Khan’s media guru, Altaf Gauhar. Reportedly, Ayub Khan’s biography, Friends, Not Masters, was ghost-written by Altaf Gauhar.
If true, the coincidence and the connection would be just a little too perfect. Which is why I remain skeptical about the authenticity of this rumor. Readers, does anyone have a sense if this is true or not?
Video clips (in three parts) of Bush-Musharraf press conference at the White House on Sept. 22:
i respect mq’s opinion, everybody has a right to hold and express his own opinion. But at the same time i would like to direct my friend’s attention towards the fact which might prove to be useful to build a moderate and neutral opinion. First of all we should be clear that AQ Khan has been made a scape goat by our establishment. It is another sacrifice by AQK that he did not release any press statement so that Pakistan may not be sanctioned by the US. There is no doubt that AQK alone cannot transfer any material to any nation without any assisstance of the forces and the establishment. Therefore, to curse AQK alone for atomic proliferation is morally, ethically and legally blunder.
I agree that AQK acquired a lot of wealth and lived like lords,don’t you think that the person who has given Pakistan atomic power deserves certain previliges. What about those boorish army generals who belong to humble backgrounds, come in to the service penniless and when they retire . they retire as billionaires. Is there anybody top question those white elephants. All mighty buildings you see in blue area islamabad are of generals and brigadiers, is there any accountability court for them??? has anybody of been disgraced by anybody like AQK. What about genral niazi and other incompetent officers who sell off our secrets to our enemy???
I was with MUsharaf in the beginning,,,but now on ething is clear, he is spoiling the whole nation. He is degrading us and ridiculing our values. He is spoling the political culture and everybody knows that he wants to rule till his death.
Friends, please feel the gravity of the situation and pull him down. If MUSH is becoming popular in the western media , it does not mean that he is bringing any honour to the country. He is simply a puppet in the hands of western leaders, especially of BUSH.
Thanks !
Waiting for your comments…..
Suleman,
I don’t think anyone has gone to the extent of calling Qadeer Khan a traitor. But from all the news and accusations against him, none of which have been denied by Khan so far, he does not seem to be cast in the mould of a hero.
Pat Expat,
I’m in agreement with you on this one, I commented at the momemnt, ofcourse as people start reading his book, all this is revealed, yes, I agree it is questionable how much the book is causing harm, and what Mush was thinking when he wrote it. I’m not taking a blind stand, as daily news and statements change the course and image for everyone to ponder what to think of Pakistan. For whatever it’s worth I state, that for his brief visit and his encounter with media, that moment in time was well handled. Today or tomorrow is a different case, no doubt.
I’m even surprised at this blog and how people are actually ready to call AQ Khan a traitor, I think they are fairly naive on to the “art of politics”.
I’ll leave it at that .
P.S. I haven’t read the book yet to comment on all his confessions other then reading what the news stories are quoting out of it yet to elaborate my views there.
Suleman,
Nobody is denying that building or changing a country’s image requires certain amount of spin. And to a society which is oblivious to the happenings in the rest of the world unless informed by the likes of FOX, CNN, etc. positive press can definitely help.
However, the rest of the world has a lot more sources of news and information and it relies on them. To the Pakistanis or otherwise living outside US, nothing has changed neither on the ground nor the image of Pakistan.
If Musharraf can change the image of Pakistan overnight by a few media appearances, it will take much less to bring the image back to where it was.
Hypothetically speaking, a few exclusive Alqaeda reports, an embedded journalist reporting from Waziristan or Afghanistan is all what is required. Actual claims of Pakistan’s involvement in Mumbai bomb blasts or Musharraf’s own admissions like claiming we received money from US for turning in captives (what about the big claim that stakes have changed) or that retired ISI generals are presently supporting Taliban (more than ISI, it reflects badly on Musharraf and Pakistan) or claiming that AQKhan arranged for shipment of 80 tons of materials without anybody’s knowledge (they used C-130s. Can you believe the AQ Khan would have moved 80 ton of material in the trunk of his car or C-130 could have landed in Pakistan without involvement of Army and Airforce). If the media highlights these issues, the whole image (in US) is down the drain.
We are definitely happy that Pakistan got positive coverage. What surprises us is that you are only looking at the side which will not last much long. We all know how good CNN, FOX are at these things. If that happens, nobody would recall how Musharraf came across in those interviews (except of course for us Pakistanis) and his book would meet the same fate as that of his predecessor’s Friends Not Masters. Though it generated great controversy which made it a best seller yet it does not have much credibility.
Majority of this thread highly influenced with media crap like Foxnews which claims Osama attacks on WTC because they ‘saw’ a video.