" ... I must confess I was taken aback by the results, since I had expected Musharraf's henchmen to rig the results. Human Rights Watch kept a close tab on the elections and posted an audio recording of Pakistan's attorney general himself advising a political aspirant that there would be heavy rigging in favor of Musharraf's party. I guess there's a limit to the shenanigans you can engage in if the people are so overwhelmingly against you. The other parties are even questioning the 40-odd seats that Musharraf's party has gotten.
Whither Musharraf? And, more importantly from a U.S. perspective, where will the United States go from here?
Musharraf and his chief backer have been badly burned by the results. Both major parties despise the ex-general. Bhutto's widower, Asif Zardari, is not ruling out impeaching him. Musharraf has three options: to retire gently into the good night, to cooperate with parliament in the hope that he will not be impeached, or defy parliament's writ. Seeing Musharraf's past stubbornness, I would rule out option number one. Of the remaining two, which course he takes depends on how deeply chastened he is. Unfortunately, self-reflection is not a quality that comes easily to this former commando, and so I foresee unending confrontation in Pakistan between the legislature and the executive.
As for the United States, it is left without a paddle. The Bush Administration has invested possibly as much as $20 billion in a man who it made the linchpin of U.S. policy in the country. Now, the Bush folks should be grateful if the democratic parties want to even talk with the United States, let alone enter into a partnership with it. ... "
~ Read more... ~
No comments:
Post a Comment