Morning Buzz: Nov. 13, 2007

This morning former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto urged President Pervez Musharraf to step down after she was put under house arrest for the second time in five days. The opposition leader said she would not be able to rule alongside Musharraf in the future because she could not trust him. Musharraf came to power in a 1999 coup and has been a valuable U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Turkish forces performed air strikes on abandoned Iraqi villages this morning, targeting Kurdish rebels. This was the first instance of Turkey using air strikesto retaliate. Rebels have killed more than 50 Turkish soldiers since late September. President Bush and Iraqi leaders urged Turkey not to use major force in fear that their actions might destabilize the northern region of the country, which is the calmest in Iraq.

The price tag for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a lot heftier and almost double what the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report being released from Congress's Joint Economic Committee today. The war tally, according to this report, is $1.6 trillion and includes "hidden" costs like interest on borrowed money and long-term medical care for veterans. The Bush administration has requested $804 billion thus far for the wars.