US President George W. Bush on Friday convened a meeting of his national security advisors to discuss the situation in Pakistan following the assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, a spokesman said.
The meeting of the National Security Council was held via secure videoconference since Bush is spending the rest of the year at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.
The hour-long meeting included Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defence Secretary Robert Gates, CIA Director Michael Hayden and National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.
Also involved were Ambassador Anne Patterson, General James Cartwright of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral William Fallon of Centcom, deputy Treasury secretary Robert Kimmitt and White House chief of staff Josh Bolten.
"The president received a briefing from the intelligence community as well as from United States Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson, who is in Islamabad," Stanzel said. "The president told his senior national security team that the United States needs to support democracy in Pakistan and help Pakistan in its struggle against extremism and terrorism."