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:
yes, I’m watchig the C-Span right now as well! Interestingly, his wife is also making a speech…which is kind of weird because she is talking about him..i.e. praising him…this is only going to reinforce the stereotype of Pakistani women being subordinate to their husbands.
Folks, How about the arresting correlation between his above statements and the title of his book. Simon & Schuster is a powerhouse but I really didn’t imagine they could or would orchestrate something as grand as this tour. I guess they are seeing a million copies sold here.
For those in the US, CSPAN (in most places) is right now carrying Musharraf’s speech at georgetown Univeristy live…. wideranging speech touching on every aspect
our president has become quite the celebrity!
Samdani, well you finally heard it. Bush said he was taken aback from the harshness of the words. He was informed by Colin Powell that Musharraf understands that time has come to side with USA. For all he knew, Musharraf was the first president to side with Bush in this time of need. Suddenly, he moved from an undemocratic army general (once lectured by Bill Clinton on democracy on a stopover to India) to most allied ally.
Just can’t wait for the remaining revelations in his book.