Letters to the Editor
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A lesson this country has never learned
The unlearned lesson? That the phrase "He may be a bastard, but at least he's OUR bastard" is nothing on which to build crucial foreign policy.
For some reason, policymakers in many administrations decide to deal with the Devil, and it seems, inevitably get burned every time. Can anyone give an example of a similar instance when this did NOT happen, after putting faith/hope/support/beaucoup$$$ behind some bastard like Musharraf? None come readily to mind!
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How about Korea?
RichEmery asked: 'Can anyone give an example of a similar instance when this did NOT happen, after putting faith/hope/support/beaucoup$$$ behind some bastard like Musharraf? None come readily to mind!'
We certainly backed govt of Mr. Ree in S. Korea to the hilt (both in blood & treasure). We also backed a few more of their stongmen. I think S. Korea has certainly become a thriving nation-state & emerging democracy (mostly due to the Korean people themselves).
The Phillipines also come to mind. We had use of various bases in there for years when we were cold warring it with the Soviets.
I do concede that I had to give it some thought before I could come up with those 2 examples.
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Bush-Pakistan-war on terror
What War on Terror? Did that not stop at Tora Bora, Afghanistan where Bin Laden supposedly was with AQ and the USA advancing and Pakistan forces on the other side of the border blocking any retreat? Were Special Forces pulled out of the fight and sent to Kuwait for the invasion of Iraq where there were no WMD's and no AQ? Pakistan has a very large Army (CIA World Fact Book) and NATO and the USA have a sizeable presence in Afghanistan. I find it hard to believe the combined forces cannot destroy the Taleban and the remnants of AQ. I firmly believe that OBL and AAZ are dead or captured and are being kept alive figuratively to keep the phony war on terror going as a gravy train for a select few. Was the invasion of Iraq copied from McArthur's 'hit them where the aren't'? Prove to the citizens of the USA, and the world that these murderous clowns are still alive!
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None dare call it democracy
It's possible that the new civilian Pakistani government about to be formed will foster a more stable country, which is ultimately in the interest of Pakistan and of the United States.
That's the eternal rub with American foreign policy for the 20th Century and into the 21st -- "stability" versus "democracy."
Although we so like to pretend that they're the same, in the Third World, stability has fuck-all to do with democracy, and everything to do with dictatorship, and the US has all too willingly sided with the dictators and called them "moderates" or "democrats" or "statesmen" to cover up the fallacy.
Democracy cannot be about stability, because if you're honestly letting more voices be heard in a country, then what you'll get is stops and starts, turns, about-faces, and everything in between, and a national policy that doesn't answer to you, but rather, to the citizens in Country X. The steady, stable, martial drumbeat the US craves is the strong suit of the police state, not the democracy.
That Musharraf has apparently been haunted by Bhutto's ghost is surely karmic, given his own rise to power, and his role in that country. Democracy does have a way of throwing off established narratives, which is probably why we avoid so much, at home and abroad.
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Self-determination-R-US
I mean, you can almost hear the American foreign policy pundits sniffing derisively at Pakistan's elections, saying in Yogi Berra-ish logic..."Self-determination doesn't mean being able to do whatever you want."
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BUSH, SMUSH
The guy has been on the wrong side of just about EVERYTHING for his entire life! JUST GET HIM OUT WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF CONTINUED DAMAGE!
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Salon Website
Salon is supposed to be a progressive, liberal website. Is the fact that you don't support Obama for President make you a racist? Apparently your whole staff backs Obama and slants all your articles accordingly. It is quite sad!
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The real election message
The Islamic parties were defeated. In other words, we were falsely told that Pakistan was on the brink of becoming a fundamentalist terrorist taliban state because its people hated the US, and look, they have just kicked out the religious parties. Just like we are about to....
But, they still hate us! So, why is this? Can they hate us and also hate religious fundamentalism? Or, are simple=minded solutions all we are able to absorb?
The fact is, our foreign policy sucks, and Pakistanis dont like to to have their military hired-out for $1 billion a year for a "war on terror" that subordinates their interests.
Why are we not friendly with our "friends"? Or, does it take the manipulations of a Lobby to create true friendships?