In October 1999 General Pervez Musharraf (born 1943) came to power in Pakistan when he seized control of the government in a bloodless military coup. His pretext was that he sought to stabilize the nation, but Musharraf not only heightened the level of distrust from Pakistan's long-time antagonist, India, he also succeeded in alienating the Islamic fundamentalists within his own country. Much of the latter was due to the unforeseen actions by terrorists against the United States, and the subsequent response which involved Musharraf's aligning Pakistan with the international coalition against the Al-Qaida terrorist organization and Afghanistan's ruling Taliban.

Education and Early Career

Musharraf was born on August 11, 1943, in Delhi, India, when it was still under British sovereignty. Following independence from Great Britain and the creation of the state of Pakistan, the Musharraf family moved to Karachi. Musharraf's father was a diplomat and the family spent seven years, from 1949 to...