Another Bush Backfire (Pakistan)

[ProSense]

Another Bush Backfire

By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, November 5, 2007; 1:30 PM

President Bush's coddling of Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf suddenly risks being exposed as another case of White House anti-terror policies going spectacularly bad.

The ultimate anti-terror backfire, of course, is the war in Iraq, which U.S. intelligence shows has helped al Qaeda much more than it's hurt it.

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Michael Hirsh writes for Newsweek: "After six years of propping up and making excuses for Pervez Musharraf . . . Washington doesn't have many friends left to call on in Pakistan -- perhaps the No. 1 generator of anti-U.S. terrorism in the world today. That's the dilemma that democracy crusader George W. Bush faces after Musharraf, one of his firmest allies, took the dictator's path and declared martial law on Saturday. . . .

"Some U.S. officials now fear that that this nuclear-armed nation is teetering on the verge of chaos, and the result could be every American's worst nightmare: that nuclear material or knowhow, or God forbid, a bomb, falls into the hands of terrorists. 'If you were to look around the world for where Al Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it's right in their backyard,' says Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council."

Ben Feller writes for the Associated Press: "President Bush says he gains influence with world leaders by building personal relations with them. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf got a dose of that diplomacy at the White House last fall, when Bush hailed him as a friend and a voice of moderation.

"'The president is a strong defender of freedom and the people of Pakistan,' Bush said that day, side by side with Musharraf.

"Over the weekend, that advocate of freedom emerged with a different world image: a military dictator willing to crush the rights of his own people. . . .

more

Musharraf Adopts Bush-Cheney Doctrine of "Lawfare"

[louis-t]

1. I said on this site in 2005 "Do NOT trust Musharraf"

I was beginning to think I was wrong.

[lpbk2713]

2. Birds of a feather .... and all that.

Smirky saw a mirror image of himself in Musharraf and liked what he saw. It was the beginning of a dear friendship.