Bush criticised for condoning authoritarian rule in Pakistan

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg7_58

WASHINGTON: In a scathing editorial, the Washington Post on Friday criticised President George Bush for continuing to “lionis” Gen. Pervez Musharraf while shutting his eyes to his authoritarian rule.

The Post wrote that with the announcement that he would not be stepping down as chief of the Pakistan army, “President Pervez Musharraf will break yet another of the promises he has made to his country and the world since seizing power in a 1999 military coup against an elected government.’ The newspaper recalled that a year ago, in exchange for parliamentary support for a package of laws increasing his powers as President, extending his rule through 2007 and curtailing elected government through the creation of a military-dominated national security council, Gen. Musharraf had pledged to resign from his post as Army chief of staff by Dec. 31.

“It was to be a modest step toward returning Pakistan to civilian rule, if not democracy. Yet now Mr. Musharraf is reneging, claiming that his continuance in uniform is essential to the country’s ‘unity.’ He is wrong, of course - but sadly, his chief ally, President Bush, is unwilling to hold him accountable,” wrote one of America’a most influential newspaper. It noted that President Bush continues to lionise Gen. Musharraf as a crucial ally in the war on terrorism and as someone who is leading Pakistan toward democracy. “In fact the General has become a classic example of the sort of US ally Mr. Bush has repeatedly vowed to repudiate: an authoritarian ruler who offers tactical security cooperation with the United States while storing up trouble for the future,” it wrote.

Comparing President Musharraf to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the former Shah of Iran, “Mr. Mubarak (sic, as the context shows that the name here should be that of the Pakistani leader) is perceived by his people to draw much of his power from Washington, which this year is supplying Pakistan with $700 million in aid and is discussing a billion-dollar package of arms sales.” Many Pakistanis, the editorial pointed out, consequently blame the United States for their President’s “latest authoritarian step, which Mr. Bush failed even to mention during Mr. Musharraf’s visit to the White House earlier this month. Pakistan’s militantly anti-American Islamic parties grow steadily stronger, while the secular, pro-Western political parties that governed the country during the 1990s weaken.”

more

[StClone]

1. But we freed the people of Iraq

It's a fair trade in Bush World.

[mutius]

11. we feed the people of Iraq

and let Americans go hungry, no health care, taking their jobs and sending them over seas. when the chimp is done we're done.

[ixion]

2. actually, BushCo prefers dictatorships to democracy

so it's no great suprise that he's supporting the likes of Musharraf.

That is, if you look at their actions not their words (as they claimed when they took a cheap shot at Clinton the other day).

[flordehinojos]

3. i wonder what the washington post is going to say (or if they will be able

to say anything) when they realize that BUSH plans to extend his dictatorial grip on this country far and beyond the next four years.... DON'T THEY REALIZE THAT WE OURSELVES ARE LIVING IN A DICTATORSHIP UNDER A DICTATOR NAMED GEORGE W. BUSH?
It is uncanny!

[chenGOD]

4. Well we all know bush's feelings on dictatorships...

"If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator." --- George W. Bush


http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec00/trans_12-18.htm

[TexasChick]

16. Everytime I read that quote it pisses me off! The complacency in this

country about the rise of fascism is what's killing us who don't want it and recognize it. (Sigh) Do you realize that, accoridng to Carol Moseley Braun, we only have 6 of our 27 Bill of Rights left? I can't give you a link for verification, I just read somewhere that she said it.

[Calvinist Basset]

5. What else could we expect from Smirky the Chimp?

He's a liar and a criminal.

[aikido15]

6. They are all corrupt and every single one of them....

contributed in his own "special" way to 9/11.

[allemand]

7. The irony is, of course, that the very publication of this editorial

in the Daily Times (which I can can highly recommend, btw) proves that the comparison of Musharraf with Mubarak and the Shah of Iran is simply wrong...

:-)

[jukes]

8. in what way?

an innocuous statement w/o anything supportive. are you suggesting that the bush cabal has no intentions toward dictatorship?

they control most of the media. after the gala, they'll snip the loose ends...

[Dr.Phool]

9. Unfortunately

I think you're right. They had no qualms about BLATANTLY stealing another election, to make sure they can finish their job.

I truly believe we're totally fucked. It's now one party rule, checks and balances are gone, and the American people have been so dumbed-down, they can't see whats happening to them.

Our new Minority leader thinks Scalia would be a great Chief Justice. Pelosi's incoherent and ineffectual.

If another DLC'er is elected Chair, I'm leaving the party.

[jukes]

12. too true

dr phool, we are in accord. there is no legitimate resistance left. we'll have to start from "scratch" to rid ourselves of these parasites!

[allemand]

10. I was not talking about Bush, but about the Pakistani press

which seems to be in a relatively good shape, in particular when you compare it to the press in Egypt or Iran (nowadays or under the Shah). This gives me hope that there might be the chance of a non-violent transition to democracy in Pakistan.

About the press in Egypt:
"The Government owned stock in the three of the largest daily newspapers, and the President appointed their editors in chief. These papers generally followed the government line. The Government also held a monopoly on the printing and distribution of newspapers, including those of the opposition parties. The Government used its monopolistic control of newsprint to limit the output of opposition publications."
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2003/27926.htm

[jukes]

13. ah, so desuka!

i misjudged, perhaps. i'm not familiar w/ the pakistani news service & thought you were discussing our presss.

i can't share your optimism, though. the latitude bush has been allowed, and his alliances, will prompt reprisal from the civilized world eventually. this empire has seen it's finest hour and is in decline...

[allemand]

14. I agree that as long as Bush and the neocons stay in power

the chances for democracy around the world are indeed grim.

The neocons like to talk about "democracy" a lot, but we know what they really mean by that. They would be perfectly happy with Chalabi or Allawi as Saddam 2.0 in Iraq, for example.

[susu369]

15. The bu$h* cabal wants to get their money's worth

I'm sure it took mega bucks to bribe Musharraf.

Wasn't that long ago, bu$h* didn't even know the man's name.

[leesa]

17. You mean someone has actually noticed that Bush's pals are the worst

criminals on the planet?

[Supersedeas]

18. storing up trouble for the future...in the Def Contractor driven endless

war on terror....good investment Mr. President, the twig clearer.

[NNN0LHI]

19. It will almost be worth it to see Mushi dragged from some "spider hole"

Wonder if that thought ever even crosses the thugs mind?

Don

[proudbluestater]

20. As in this country, * will prop up a dictator providing it's one

that he endorses.

[Solly Mack]

21. Yep...as long as it's him (he said so)