Washington: President Pervez Musharraf is the best bet for the US despite the turmoil in Pakistan but Washington must go after al-Qaeda unilaterally in that nation if it is in America's national interest, a leading Republican Presidential hopeful has suggested.

"It is in our best interest for there to be some stability. Right now Musharraf, despite some of the concerns we have about him, represents at least some level of security, more so than if he were ousted immediately", former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee said.

"I don't think it's in the US best interest to try to get rid of him. I think Kayani being now in charge of the military is a good thing because, clearly, he's stable, he has a sterling reputation both as a military commander and as a person who is not so political, but I think will give an even hand to the military, which is something Pakistan has needed" he said on Meet The Press programme on NBC.

When asked about the implications of the unilateral intervention by US in Pakistani territory by destabilising Musharraf, Huckabee said, "If it saves American lives, if it potentially takes out al-Qaeda's number one operative, that's a decision that a president would have to make. If I were sitting there as president, I would weigh all that information".

Justifying his case, former Arkansas Governor said, "Let me make sure that everybody understands, the number one job for the American president is to protect this country, to do every and anything that it can do to make sure that we don't see skyscrapers tumble to the ground in major cities like we did on September 11th.

Source : PTI