I guess I'm not supposed to like Musharraf, but what happens

[dkf]

if he gets killed?

That worries me a lot.

[MonkeyFunk]

1. Who would kill him?

The military's on his side, he's not doing anything to interfere with Al Qaeda or the Taliban...

I think he's safe.

[Kingshakabobo]

3. IIRC, there has been like 5 attempts on his life.

eta: Link:

I remember these two attacks. IIRC, there were others before these.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9807E6DD173EF935A15751C1A9659C8B63

[LakeSamish706]

4. And a true Hillary answer that was! n/t

[MonkeyFunk]

6. LOL

that's so nonsensical, I just have to smile.

Try debating me, not my avatar.

[Rockholm]

19. Not this crap again today.

[LostinVA]

25. My first thought, too

[La Lioness Priyanka]

22. you need to learn how to form an argument that isnt comically stupid. nt

[LostinVA]

24. ???

[LSK]

30. huh?

[JI7]

5. many people want to kill him, but he has better security

and i don't think he has held rallies like Bhutto's last one in a long time.

[MonkeyFunk]

8. Yes

that part also explains my answer - he's got protection. He's already got the power - he doesn't need to campaign for it.

[spanone]

29. he also has a nuclear arsenal....that gets you shitloads of loyalty

[tuckessee]

14. He needs to fear his security.

One of his greatest threats is a coup or assassination by rival or discontented factions within the military/security community.

[magbana]

32. Better security and

a huge ferocious army that backs him, at least up until now.

[TZ]

17. He's a secular leader

Do you honestly think that Al-Quaeda WANTS a secular leader?...I have no doubt, given the opportunity they would assassinate him too...And considering how unpopular the west is in Pakistan, I am afraid when they hold elections its going to be like what happened when the Palestinians elected Hamas..We will see a new Taliban run government...

[WilliamPitt]

26. Hm.

Assassination attempts

On December 14, 2003, Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. Musharraf was apparently saved by a jamming device in his limousine that prevented the remote controlled explosives from blowing up the bridge as his convoy passed over it. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule.

On December 25, 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill him; 16 others nearby died instead.<22> Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windscreen on his car. Militant Amjad Farooqi was apparently suspected of being the mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt.

On July 6, 2007, there was another attempted assassination, when an unknown group fired an anti-aircraft gun at Musharraf's plane as it took off from a runway in Rawalpindi.<23> 39 people were arrested, detained and put at an undisclosed location by a joint team of Punjab police and Pakistan Intelligence Agencies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musharraf#Assassination_attempts

Facts are stubborn things, Funk.

:eyes:

[LakeSamish706]

2. That might be a fair point in light of what went down today! However, there..

are other alternatives in Pakistan just like any other country! Sorry, but I don't feel that a Dictatorship is the answer.... I would rather a week Democratic leader than a Dictator at the helm....

[dkf]

7. Heavens I'm not saying I want him in power

I'm just scared what would happen in a vacuum like that.

I guess I don't know enough about Pakistan to make any kind of statements about who leads that country.

But I do know that another assassination would be devastating.

[frogcycle]

9. you are correct

Chris Dodd politely contradicted Richardson on Countdown. Richardson said Musharraf should step down; Dodd said far from it - postpone the elections. He's the devil we know.

[Truth2Tell]

12. I like Dodd, but I think he's wrong

about this.

We have a long history of making deals with Devils that we know. They generally prove to be self-defeating deals. Sometimes they last a generation and sometimes only a few days. But when the backlash cometh we lose. When we support repressive regimes that don't have the actual support of their people we eventually pay the price. See: history of Iran. And see: future of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on their current course.

[Truth2Tell]

10. We get rid of a dictator

and the Pakistani Assembly lets the lawyers and judges out of jail, and they hold elections?

:shrug:

[Rex]

11. That sounds about right.

If everyone plays nice.

[Truth2Tell]

13. Of course it's a gamble

Real democracy always is. We may have to sweat it out in the short term - like an addict in recovery. But the long term benefits of removing despots from the American teet will make us more secure.

And before anyone starts howling about nukes in the hands of radical Islamo-Fascists - bear in mind that the Pakistani nukes are controlled by a special U.S. assisted force within the military that is unlikely to change in composition regardless of which major political group comes to power. And in the highly unlikely event that some rogue radical takes control, you better believe we - together with our friends in the Pakistani military - have contingency plans for those nukes.

Our best bet is to pull back from Mushie and let the chips fall where they may. But alas, we are the control freaks of the world and letting chips fall outside of our control is presently beyond us.

[Richard Steele]

20. Yeah, just like in Iraq.

Only with 40 or so nuclear weapons in the country.

[blondeatlast]

27. That have already been tested and with another nuke country next door and

none too friendly.

There's a lot of people on DU who are seeing this as similar to Iraq--it isn't. India and Pakistan have both tested their nukes in a pissing contest against each other.

It can't be repeated enough.

[Truth2Tell]

28. I'm not suggesting we overthrow

Mushie. Big difference.

[Richard Steele]

31. I didn't mean to suggest that you were actually proposing such a thing..

VERY big difference indeed, and that's a FACT!

Peace.

[riverdeep]

15. Bush talked about wanting the elections to continue at the scheduled date.

The problem is, this is no longer a 'fair' election. Not that it would have been anything like fair, their democracy is more of a sham than ours. But now, Mush has every motivation to continue the election because it will virtually guarantee him the win, and he'll curry favor with the West, especially the US. For this reason, I think he will hold elections. If the nation isn't totally consumed by rioting by then.

[izzie]

16. For sure he will not walk behind the coffin.

That is a play on how JFK times were by the way. I do not see peace in our time in this part of the world. Just think of how this type of stuff has worked out. Lenin, who believed that power was the only thing that counted, lasted with his hand me down power for 80 years.He had worked at getting that power for about 30 years before he got it and with him and his type any thing goes. Kill people or any thing to get the power and do as they want. Can we think that these same types that are trying for power all over the Middle East are not the same? Maybe even worst as they claim they are doing it in Gods name. These are not new types by the way. History is full of the push for power at any cost. Just pick up any history book and one can read about it. I sure do not envy the people living in the middle of the power play.

[riverdeep]

18. "I sure do not envy the people living in the middle of the power play."

Do you live in the US? Cause if you do, you're in the middle. We've got our own little Lenins at work right here.

[izzie]

33. I guess your right in a way.

As a women I knew I always had to be careful where I went or what I did. Even in the every day world one had to be a little careful. I guess I should have said I feel safer than when I lived in Saudi Arabia and those people I do not envy. It is a step away from them that makes life safer for us. We could be just like them, as I am sure many think guns will fix every thing,and should be in the hands of the rulers. I hope we can stay a some what law and order society where the odd man out can live with the other people also. Laws that protect the big part of society and not the small edges is pretty bad also. Hard for people to face that.

[conspirator]

21. 1) A dictator usually kills/jails the opposition first

2)It's very hard to break a dictator's security. Nobody could kill saddam either if the US hadn't stormed bagdad.
3)If 1) and 2) fail then the US will certainly invade

[Marrah_G]

23. I don't like him but I also don't want to see Pakistan dissove into a civil war or a coup

I hope it can be kept from having either happen before they can have an election.

We need to support Musharraf long enough to get those elections done.