Bushites Bungle Pakistan Too
Following former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination last December, voters in Pakistan finally went to the polls on Monday to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections.
The NY Times reports that fear of violence and confusion at polling places may have contributed to the low turnout and that no clear winners may emerge in this go round which may result in post election struggles.
According to the article,
"At stake in the election is the question of what kind of elected government will emerge in Pakistan after eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf.
"Mr. Musharraf, who stepped down as army chief last November after being re-elected to another five year term, has seen his popularity plummet as the country has faced a determined insurgency by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and a deteriorating economy."
Last December in a post titled, "Bhutto's Assassination Puts Bush, Condi And Other Bushites In A Pickle," I wrote, "Benazir Bhutto's assassination puts Bush, Condi and the rest of the gang in a pickle. They were first among many foreign nations supporting the return of Bhutto in hopes of a political match of convenience between Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf, with Benazir Bhutto running for prime minister and Musharraf as civilian president, having resigned from the army.
"The Bush administration is infamous both for its lack of an intelligent, historically aware, 21st century cohesive foreign policy and its last minute, incompetent, throwing-oil-on-fire, ad hoc foreign policy machinations.
"For example, as reported in the New York Times on Monday, "Early last week, six years after President Bush first began pouring billions of dollars into Pakistan’s military after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Pentagon completed a review that produced a classified plan to help the Pakistani military build an effective counterinsurgency force.
"While throwing billions at Pakistan's military, it took the Bushite administration six years to come up with a plan! And the result? According to the article, "After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. The strategy to improve the Pakistani military, they said, needs to be completely revamped."
In another posting last December I wrote, "So the clueless Bush administration has no one with real Pakistan experience in the State Department's South Asia bureau, or on State's policy planning staff, or on the National Security Council staff, or in the Vice President's office, for the first time in United States history. And Cheney is running Pakistan policy!"
A fitting coda to Bush and his administration's foreign policy blundering in Pakistan is this commentary from eminent journalist Ahmed Rashid, "
"The thing is that under the political dispensation of President Musharraf, there is no support in the country for a concerted campaign against extremists because there is no support for him and his government. Until there is a legitimate government, which is representative and can mobilise people to stand up and resist the extremists, we're going to go down on this score.
"This is the biggest failure of the Americans -- not to understand that the real problem in Pakistan is the lack of legitimate government. It's not a question of better guns or money etc. It is a matter of legitimacy and having the people's support. The second thing is that this is also affecting the morale of the Pakistan army. We've seen how the morale has plummeted in the army, in the Frontier Corps, in the Police; the security services are extremely scared of the militants. The tactic of suicide bombing has created enormous fear amongst them."
The NY Times reports that fear of violence and confusion at polling places may have contributed to the low turnout and that no clear winners may emerge in this go round which may result in post election struggles.
According to the article,
"At stake in the election is the question of what kind of elected government will emerge in Pakistan after eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf.
"Mr. Musharraf, who stepped down as army chief last November after being re-elected to another five year term, has seen his popularity plummet as the country has faced a determined insurgency by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and a deteriorating economy."
Last December in a post titled, "Bhutto's Assassination Puts Bush, Condi And Other Bushites In A Pickle," I wrote, "Benazir Bhutto's assassination puts Bush, Condi and the rest of the gang in a pickle. They were first among many foreign nations supporting the return of Bhutto in hopes of a political match of convenience between Bhutto and Pervez Musharraf, with Benazir Bhutto running for prime minister and Musharraf as civilian president, having resigned from the army.
"The Bush administration is infamous both for its lack of an intelligent, historically aware, 21st century cohesive foreign policy and its last minute, incompetent, throwing-oil-on-fire, ad hoc foreign policy machinations.
"For example, as reported in the New York Times on Monday, "Early last week, six years after President Bush first began pouring billions of dollars into Pakistan’s military after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Pentagon completed a review that produced a classified plan to help the Pakistani military build an effective counterinsurgency force.
"While throwing billions at Pakistan's military, it took the Bushite administration six years to come up with a plan! And the result? According to the article, "After the United States has spent more than $5 billion in a largely failed effort to bolster the Pakistani military effort against Al Qaeda and the Taliban, some American officials now acknowledge that there were too few controls over the money. The strategy to improve the Pakistani military, they said, needs to be completely revamped."
In another posting last December I wrote, "So the clueless Bush administration has no one with real Pakistan experience in the State Department's South Asia bureau, or on State's policy planning staff, or on the National Security Council staff, or in the Vice President's office, for the first time in United States history. And Cheney is running Pakistan policy!"
A fitting coda to Bush and his administration's foreign policy blundering in Pakistan is this commentary from eminent journalist Ahmed Rashid, "
"The thing is that under the political dispensation of President Musharraf, there is no support in the country for a concerted campaign against extremists because there is no support for him and his government. Until there is a legitimate government, which is representative and can mobilise people to stand up and resist the extremists, we're going to go down on this score.
"This is the biggest failure of the Americans -- not to understand that the real problem in Pakistan is the lack of legitimate government. It's not a question of better guns or money etc. It is a matter of legitimacy and having the people's support. The second thing is that this is also affecting the morale of the Pakistan army. We've seen how the morale has plummeted in the army, in the Frontier Corps, in the Police; the security services are extremely scared of the militants. The tactic of suicide bombing has created enormous fear amongst them."
Posted by Kaz at 2/18/2008 10:14 AM 
Categories: Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan, Global Engagement, Foreign Policy, Bushites
Categories: Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan, Global Engagement, Foreign Policy, Bushites
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