Commentary

Musharraf must go!- by Greg Strid

Musharraf must go!

In the global war on terror, the U.S. is focusing on
the larger “good versus evil” picture, assigning nations,
political leaders, and entire populations into neat, tidy
white and black columns.

In Pakistan, General Musharraf, who has been the
de facto dictator of Pakistan since he led a successful
coup to overthrow the elected government in 1999,
is our ally- no questions asked!

He has been the steward of approximately $10 billion
in U.S. aid since the start of the war on terror (9/12/01).
One must ask then, what, if anything are we getting for
our hard-borrowed money that we have been showering
the general with?

Musharraf has been saying all of the right things, in
fact, he even authored a book recently to better align
himself with the likes of high-level U.S. “do-nothing”
functionaries, such as ex-CIA chief George Tenet.

But, when his record of action is examined with even
the most cursory gaze, one can see a man fighting to
maintain his grip on power- at the expense of American
interests. Musharraf has made deals with the tribal
leaders in both South and North Waziristan and Bajuar,
which essentially hand over control of these regions,
which sit on the border with Afghanistan, to Taliban
control (remember now, they are the ones we kicked
out of that nation due to their provision of support
and sanctuary to al Qaeda).

It seems that the good general is not so tough on
terror after all. In fact, he seems more concerned
with the political opposition posed by Pakistan’s
moderates. Earlier this spring, Musharraf suspended
the chief justice of the supreme court, Iftikar Mohammad
Chaundry for dubious reasons. This arbitrary dismissal
of an independent-minded judge resulted in a massive
street protests, the latest one, on May 12, resulted in
the deaths of 48 demonstrators.

In a desperate bid to regain control, Musharraf tore a
page from Putin’s playbook and curtailed the actions of
independent media outlets. He then emulated China’s
ruling autocracy, jailing hundreds of political activists
who dared to oppose his rule. ( One could also substitute
Burma, Zimbabwe, or Saudi Arabia in the place of China
for that matter.)

So, now it is time for the Bush administration to decide
whether or not to continue to support the misbehaving
dictator of Pakistan. Even before his latest display of
autocratic paranoia, Musharraf’s contributions to reining
in the nettlesome Taliban have been all pomp and no
substance. Therefore, the $10 billion in aid that passed
through his hands was at best wasted, and at worst
used to protect those who wish most to do Americans harm.
Now he has inflamed the political center of Pakistan, which
constitutes the bulk of the Pakistani population.

Musharraf should not receive another dime from U.S.
taxpayers until he starts acting like a responsible leader.
He has to allow free and fair elections this fall, and if, by
chance he were to win, he should then give up his position
as head of the armed forces. The Bush administration has
trumpeted the merits of winning “hearts and minds” as
a way of winning against the totalitarian forces of Islamic
extremism, but it cannot employ a double standard when
it comes to our supposed allies in this struggle. Supporting
the will of the people of Pakistan is the best way to show
that America is serious about spreading democracy.

by Greg Strid

© 2007 Splendid Marbles.