Pakistan’s Failed Dictator: “West’s Imaginary Friend”
The Australian describes Pervez Musharraf as “West’s most disappointing ally in the war on terror. Let’s be clear about this: Musharraf was a catastrophic failure for Pakistan.
“He claimed to have turned the country around and to have turned it against the Taliban terrorists it had created and succoured in Afghanistan. In fact, he did nothing of the kind. Or rather, at the same time as he did a bit of that, his military continued to co-operate with the Taliban, which is being battled by, among others, Australian troops in Afghanistan.
“But the endless cycle of Pakistani politics contains only a couple of variations. One is for a civilian government to fail amid corruption and incompetence and be replaced by a military dictator, who is at first welcomed for his effectiveness.
“But then the military dictator in turn fails and is replaced by a democratically elected government, which is at first welcomed for its democratic credentials and its promise of economic reform. It, too, then fails and is replaced by a new military dictator.
“But all the while that this cycle endlessly repeats, Pakistan sinks slowly into state failure and social chaos.” More here…
The AFP reports: “With Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf gone, Washington must work with Islamabad’s democratically elected government to wage the ‘war on terror’ — a task US experts say may be more challenging but could reap better results.
However, the challenges to the democratically-elected government in Pakistan are many. “Some US experts said that Musharraf, who ruled with almost unfettered power during most of his tenure, played a double game and was not a genuine US war-on-terror partner despite more than 10 billion dollars in US aid to his country. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, Al-Qaeda’s safe haven in Pakistan grew rapidly under Musharraf’s watch, they said.” More here…
“Selig Harrison, head of the Asia program at the Center for International Policy, says Musharraf’s departure presents an opportunity for the U.S. to undo some of the damage caused by its relationship with the former general.
“Harrison says Musharraf’s resignation should allow the U.S. to let that anti-Americanism die down and to ’shut up and do absolutely nothing but respond to initiatives from the new government’.” More here…
The Telegraph says: “Musharraf’s departure is certainly a watershed…However, the mess he has left behind is one that will haunt Pakistan and the world in the months ahead. ” More here…
Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd is worried about his country’s troops in Afghanistan. More here…
