Saturday, September 15, 2007

Pakistan conundrum

The New York Times reported today that Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister, will return to Pakistan next month after Ramadan, ostensibly to challenge Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the country's president. She apparently will return whether she reaches a power-sharing deal with Musharraf or not. If she doesn't, or even if she does, Bhutto is subject to arrest on past corruption charges. Are these true? Does anyone know? What's important about Pakistan is not only that it is a nuclear-armed country, but that Musharraf is, ostensibly, a key U.S. ally in the war on terror. This, as we've discussed, despite the fact that areas of his country are overrun by the precisely the same insurgents that the war on terror is supposed to be rooting out. Musharraf is our guy, he wasn't shunned because he joined our team, and now we have to try to influence to embrace democratic reform in the country he has dominated since 1999. Is the U.S. up to this challenge?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about? Who cares about Pakistan?