Watch the current power grab by Musharraf in Pakistan very closely because the Cheney/Bush administration is not only sanctioning it but are taking notes with the very real possibility of doing the very same thing before the 2008 election.
As Congress begins to feel its power and rightfully question the illegal actions of the Bush administration ~ the pressure will build on Dick ' Darth Vader ' Cheney to play his ultimate trump card in which he and George W Bush will declare a constitutional crisis, implement martial law and legally take over the government.
Juan Cole, SALON , who correctly called the Iraq fiasco before it was obvious, once again correctly identifies the illusion of Democracy in Pakistan and that Bush will gladly go along with Musharraf's latest power grab.
To the Cheney/Bush administration ~ power is the ultimate tool and Democracy is a faded banner of the past to be waved for the apathetic masses ~ but never fully condoned or implemented.
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2007/11/07.html
Bush and Musharraf's grand illusionDemocracy for Pakistan was never the deal ~ and as Musharraf's latest power grab throws his nation into turmoil, Bush will gladly go along.
By Juan Cole / SALON http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/11/06/musharraf?source=newsletter
Nov. 06, 2007 | In the fall of 1999, as he campaigned for the presidency, George W. Bush was asked by a reporter to name the leader of Pakistan. Bush could not. He famously replied: "The new Pakistani general, he's just been elected -- not elected, this guy took over office. It appears this guy is going to bring stability to the country, and I think that's good news for the subcontinent." Although Bush didn't know Gen. Pervez Musharraf's name and was confused as to how he got into office, the soon-to-be American president was sanguine about the anti-democratic developments in Pakistan.
More than seven years later, Bush's illusions about Musharraf -- and any illusion of democracy in Pakistan ~ have been shattered by the dictator's declaration of a state of emergency. Tantamount to a coup, Musharraf's actions on Saturday have not only thrown Pakistan into turmoil but have also revealed the hypocrisy of Bush's foreign policy, including the proclaimed goal of fostering freedom and the rule of law in the Muslim world.
At a press conference on Monday, Bush said of the weekend coup, "We expect there to be elections as soon as possible." But while Bush admitted that Musharraf's actions would "undermine democracy," he insisted that the general is "a strong fighter" in the war on terror. That dual message was accompanied by the American president tepidly declining to say what he would do if Musharraf did not move toward elections. Also revealing was the fact that Bush had sent the weakest member of his team, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, out to warn Musharraf against the coup, indicating how little he was in reality worried about it. If he had been deeply anxious, he would have called the general himself. Many observers are viewing Musharraf's coup as a major setback for Bush's policy, but in fact it changes almost nothing.
Although the United States has given some $11 billion to Pakistan (mostly in military aid) since 2001, Bush needs Musharraf more than Musharraf needs the United States. The war in Afghanistan is a key reason: A major proportion of the war materiel for the 20,000 U.S. troops, and additional 20,000 NATO troops, in Afghanistan (a landlocked country) goes through Pakistan. U.S., British and Canadian troops on the front lines fighting a Taliban resurgence could be endangered if Pakistan were to cut off the flow of those supplies. On Monday, Rice appeared to back off from earlier warnings to Pakistan that a coup would jeopardize U.S. aid, saying that she doubted cooperation on the war on terror would be affected by Musharraf's actions.
Continued at ~ http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/11/06/musharraf?source=newsletter
Allen L Roland http://blogs.salon.com/0002255/2007/11/07.html
