Gay Conservative

It’s a little before midnight here on a Saturday night, and people like Steve are out having a good time.  In his absence, I am enjoying a Miller Lite in front of my computer and keeping watch over the globe.  Somebody’s got to do it.

Pakistan is a topic that probably won’t get me a lot of comments, but that nation has definitely been in the news as of late.  Dem presidential candidate, Barack Obama, started the buzz when he claimed that his potential administration would go into Pakistan unilaterally if the Pakistanis did not do enough to target terrorists on their side of the border.  Obama has since backpedaled a bit since his comments drew “howls of derisive laughter” and some raised eyebrows.  Hillary went to town on him.

Stop the presses though – I almost kind of agreed with Obama.  I understand that Pakistan is an ally.  And I respect the tenuous position of Pakistani President, Pervez Musharaff.  But I wonder how much he has done to help the allied situation in Afghanistan. 

After the dubious deal that he struck with tribal leaders in the outlaw province of Waziristan (where the Taliban are festering), I was left scratching my head.  Musharaff basically agreed to leave these guys alone if they “promised to be good.”  And oh yeah – “if you see one of those Taliban dudes, please mention it to us so maybe we can do something.”  It was all a crock of s***.  And it didn’t endear Musharaff to the US.

Musharaff has suffered numerous setbacks recently.  He tried to sack a popular (but terrible) Supreme Court member, Iftikhar Chaudry.  That was overturned after a raucous outcry, and Chaudry resumed his place.  Then there was the incident at the Red Mosque which was an equivalent of the David Koresh fiasco in Waco, Texas.  Only Mushraff was dealing with Islamic extremists.  Add to that the dozens who have been killed in recent bombings and terrorist actions in Pakistan.  Basically, poor Pervez needs a vacation. A long one at that.

So – how do you solve a problem like Musharaff?  The man is a dictator who overthrew the democratically-elected government as an army general and installed himself as a President.  Until ole Dick Cheney et al threatened his ass after 9/11, he was a Taliban sympathizer (to put it mildly).  He’s no angel, but he’s our “little mess” (go ahead – grin big and pinch his cheeks).  He seems to be the only thing standing between radicals and nuclear weapons.  Don’t forget folks – the Pakis have nukes.  Makes your stomach churn.

And as Pakistan churns towards chaos under the nose of a weakened Musharaff, there is hope.  The Wall Street Journal wrote an excellent piece on former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto.  This woman is still enormously popular in Pakistan.  True, she was chased out of the country on corruption charges, but she is a democrat and a moderate.  She might still have the power to turn things around if Mr. Mushraff is prepared to tweak a couple of laws and turn things over to her.

Now Ms. Bhutto is poised to again play a leading role in Pakistan’s political life, after an eight-year absence from the country. Rumors have been flying since late last month that she met secretly with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Abu Dhabi to discuss a power-sharing arrangement. These are rumors she makes no effort to deny during a visit Wednesday to the Journal’s editorial offices.

“It’s the most famous ‘non-meeting’ because neither he nor I have officially confirmed that the meeting took place,” she says, stressing the word officially. “I don’t know why . . . but we haven’t officially confirmed it. But we have been in negotiations with Gen. Musharraf.”

Yup.  They did meet.  And hopefully it was concerning a tranfer of power or power-sharing at the least.  Musharaff doesn’t seem positioned to hold the reign much longer.  And turning it over to an unknown (and possibly Islamist) government is not an option – especially with nukes involved.

For the sake of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the coalition allies in the region, I sincerely hope that Bhutto and Musharaff reach an agreement.  Otherwise, based on current events in Pakistan, the future is bleak for them and us.

Update:  Here is a good article from CNN on a recently concluded Pakistanti-Afghan peace jirga.