"Favoring the strongman in Pakistan over the populist of Persia"

[varun]

http://yellowtimes.org/article.php?sid=1651&mode=thread&order=0

...Ironically, one aspect of United States foreign policy which has changed very little, despite the alleged lessons learned from 9/11 and the two wars which ensued, has been the continued support of military dictatorships over budding democracies in the region. To illustrate this, we can examine the leaders of the two nations which share borders with the countries involved in the recent conflicts, as well as with each other. They are President Muhammad Khatami of Iran and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.

The United States has a long and sordid history in its relationships with autocrats and despots who have served the United States' interests and foreign policy objectives well. These include, to name only a few, Augusto Pinochet, Anastasio Somoza, Manuel Noreiga, Ferdinand Marcos, and Saddam Hussein. Not to be forgotten is the support given to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and one Osama bin Laden...

...Iran is now once again led by a populist leader in the person of President Muhammad Khatami, who won landslide election victories in May 1997 and again in June 2001 against conservative opponents. In Pakistan, in contrast, General Pervez Musharraf follows in the footsteps of General Zia ul-Haq, ascending to power through a military coup which overthrew the elected Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in 1999. As if grinning at the number of times history has had to repeat itself, the United States once again is shunning an Iranian populist and backing a Pakistani dictator....

In light of the above circumstances, these questions must be asked of the United States government: did the Musaddeq-Shah-Khomeini chronology or even the short-lived gains of supporting Saddam Hussein provide no insight as to the likely outcome of an alliance between the United States and a military dictator? How long can General/President Musharraf be buoyed against both democratic and religious extremist tides before the internal pressures become too great and fracture the country? Does not the United States have more to gain in establishing formal relations with the reform-minded President Khatami of Iran than in fomenting internal and external dissent? ...