Our Man in Pakistan
George Bush must admire Pervez Musharraf. While Bush regularly complains about trial lawyers, Musharraf actually makes them pay for their litigious ways. The Pakistani ruler has his Army rounding up attorneys and carting them off in paddy wagons. And the Supreme Court is on the top of Musharraf’s hit list. No doubt Bush would love to hand down a few house arrests to our Supreme Court Justices, especially after they told him he couldn’t detain “enemy combatants” indefinitely without a trial.
President Bush also has to admire Musharraf’s cool as a cucumber persona. Musharraf’s a lot like the avuncular Dick Cheney in this respect. If you knew Cheney and Musharraf strictly from written accounts, you’d think they were delusional megalomaniacs.
Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt that he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us. Time is not on our side.
Dick Cheney, August 26, 2002. It’s all in the delivery.
Pervez Musharraf also looks comfortable both in his general’s uniform and in a coat and tie. People make fun of George Bush when he dresses up in his flight suit. Shoot, Bush doesn’t even get to wear a general’s outfit in public.
Bush must also admire Musharraf’s grip on power. Musharraf has left no doubt that he is totally in charge in Pakistan. I’ll bet President Bush would love to suspend our Constitution. He never seems to care for it much anyway, especially the part about Congress having the power to declare war.
Most of all, Bush must love the way Musharraf sticks it to other countries. The Pakistani leader ignores American admonitions to not declare martial law, tosses his political opponents in prison, leaves the Taliban in charge of his countries’ northern frontier, closes down the free press and then sends US taxpayers the bill. What a guy.
Musharraf, Pakistan, Bush, foreign affairs, foreign policy, world affairs, democracy, Congress
June 10th, 2008 at 7:36 pm
[...] The Pakistani people mistrust Pervez Musharraf. He has shown no respect for the Pakistani parliament, courts or free press. The late Benazir [...]