The Risky Dance with Pakistan As the nation of Pakistan teeters on the edge of chaos, the United States is left with difficult questions.
Does the Bush Administration support its ally in the War on Terror, President Musharraf? Should the United States support immediate democratic reforms and the popular appeal of Benazir Bhutto?
It is clear that the U.S. is left with few good options in this situation. Musharraf seems to represent at least some semblance of stability in a volatile region. On the other hand, the U.S. risks losing the moral high ground as it promotes "democracy" in Iraq but denies it in Pakistan.
What is the proper course of action for the United States?
20 comments:
Musharraf should be out of power because he is a danger to his country and is leading them to fall. The U.S. used to consider Musharraf an ally but now that the country is falling and is losing many lives due to war and suicide bombers the U.S. has reevaluated the General's alliance. The U.S. has a good right to think that extremism is more of a danger than Musharraf because he may be the leader for there military he can be taken out of power but extremism would be harder to eliminate. The Islamics want democracy and they demand it, it it overpowering the fear of extremism, "The game is up; fear of extremism was no longer enough to stop the call for democracy." The U.S. should try to stop the instablitiy in Pakistan and it would be useful to build schools and help support them and try to get democracy to develop.
Chantel R.
No, the Bush Administration does not support President Musharrafs actions fully. He had not agreed to cutting all ties with extremists because he is not worried about the extremists but democracy. The U.S. should in turn aid Pakistan against it's own extremists since President Musharraf supports the War on Terror.
The U.S should definently intervine. They need to show Pakistan that they can be trusted to help when they are in a time of war/turmoil. Pakistan is a key companion in the war on terror, and if they can not be kept a companion than both of these wars may never be won.
The United States should focus on promoting democracy in Pakistan, the same as it is doing in Iraq. It is clear that Musharaff is not concerned with Islamic extremism, so it is up to the U.S. to try and solve the problem. The U.S. needs to find ways to promote democracy into their world. At the same time, they need to try and decrease the number of deaths that are occurring. It is up to the U.S. to help establish a democracy in Pakistan and prevent future problems from developing. They should not cut all ties with Musharaff because he will be essential in fixing the issues within the country.
Musharraf fears democracy, not extremism.
Musharraf is against democracy. He is scared that with democracy he will be run out of power. Musharraf is for using violence, and democrary is against violence with other democracy.If everyone becomes a democracy than there will be no war, no violence. Musharraf's military will keep him in power. We need to get rid of Musharraf.The Islamic extremism is no longer enough to stop the call for democracy. So it shouldn't be that hard to get rid of Musharraf.
The Pakistan Mess
Democracy is the best for a stable Pakistan. If they become a democracy then they wont be in any more wars and they can build up their economy. Pakistan will have more money to build up things they really need.
Stephanie L.
i think the united states should keep trying to help the Pakistanians, but do it in the least violant way possible. if the u.s. can't help make it a democracy they should just leave President Musharraf to do what he pleases. they should talk to him about everything and make him understand that he needs to do whats right for the people. i think they still have a few good options left for dealing with this. i think if they can control the violence and extremism then everything else is going to be easy.
-rachel i.
The Pakistani people need a new leader. Musharraf is holding them back from a prosperous democracy. The United States could aid Pakistan in a revolution. This would make the people happier.It would also help Pakistan economically. If they continue to be ruled by Musharraf, the country will fail. The recent outbreaks of violence and disorder are proof of the need for help.
The U.S. should help the Pakistani people by getting rid of Musharraf. They need to find a new leader to replace him. He obviously is not the best leader for the country. He has not made the country any better sience he took over. They do not need to get involved too much but they need to support the people. I would fear getting involved like they are in Iraq. They are in a mess in Iraq and do not need to get in the same mess in Pakistan.
The U.S. needs to continue to aid Pakistan. If the U.S continues Musharraf might give way to democratic ideas. We should send aid for a small time if Pakistan does not improve we should invade and overthrow Musharraf. The U.S. should then proceed to make Pakistan democratic.
Pakistan is a delicate place with many ways to deal with it. We could get Ms,Bhutto back in power with musharraf as milltary leader or out all together,nuke them and start armmagedden. have a nice bloddy coup.Most likly we will talk for 25 years, get nothing down and then nuke them
Eli J
Well, Eli's idea sounds tempting, but not enough to follow through. ;D
The U.S. should help aid Pakistan by building a democracy. This does not mean that troops have to be sent into the country though. If U.S. troops follow through with Iraq, and talk to Musharaff, then maybe he will like the idea of a democracy as the U.S. has demonstrated. Maybe by compromise and demonstration Musharaff will become more open minded and see that democracy is a great way to run government, and without the people's voices being heard, it is nearly impossible to run a succesfull government where everyone is satisfied. So, yes, U.S. should intervene, but not physically.
The U.S. should keep helping Pakistan, but only to a certain point. It is the U.S.'s job to promote democracy everywhere. The more nation's the U.S. turns to a stable democracy makes the world a better place and more peaceful place to live. In the Pakistan mess the U.S. does need to take Gen. Pervez Musharraf out of power. Musharraf is just creating a mess and has not helped his country grow. He has done nothing good so he probable never will so he needs to be removed for the country and the worlds well being bfore he creates a problem that cannot be fixed.
In the article The Pakistan Mess it says that Musharraf "has repeatably broken promises..." I know the U.S. needs Pakistan to fight the war on terrorism but I don't believe we should drag the U.S. down to just keep Pakistan on our side. Iraq is already a problem we don't need another problem area. I'd really rather we just leave the Middle East to destroy each other and then there would be no problem. I know that is not how things work but that is how I wish they would.
No matter what happens, U.S needs to support democracy in Pakistan and not turn their backs to Musharrafs actions. They need Pakinstan's support on the war on terror so the government needs to chose thier plans wisely. It seems that President Bush trusts Mushararfs in his actions and thinks Musharrafs will keep the elections and will resign like he had promise. U.S. has a lot of thinking to do in the next few months.
The Bush Administration should not support the actions of Pervez Musharraf. we should help restore normalcy, whatever that may be, but should not encourage the actions of Musharraf. The U.S. needs to show Pakistan that we can help them in a time of disorder. they need to trust us, and we do not want to lose a country that supports us on the war on terror. According to an editorial in The New York Times, "cutting off aid would make it harder to enlist Pakistan's military in the anti-extremist fight and renew doubts about America's reliability as an ally." This means that if the U.S. does not try to help, Pakistan will not help us as we fight against extremists. This would also make the United States look like a bad ally.
Joey Chamberlain
I think that the United States is an allly of Musharraf because the War on Terror is a criitcal war and issue for everyone. The United States thought that the alliance was crucial until Musharraf decided to declare this emergency rule. The United States should push for a Democracy in Pakistan as it has been doing in Iraq because that is the only thing that will help their country right now. Musharraf should lose control of Pakistan after this is over because he has caused alot of panic among his people. The United States needs to get with Musharraf and Bhutto and create a Democracy for the good of the people in Pakistan.
i believe that the u.s. government should ally itself with the progression of democracy. Democracy is what is leading this world in the right direction, not general Musharraf.The alliance that was adopted between the president of the united states and general Musharraf should not be placed ahead of the progression of the world. The United States should intervene in Pakistand and support Bhutto who has the right state of mind in how Pakistan should be.
-LeeAnn Lanzarotta
(i forgot my password ): )
the United States needs to wise up. Should we aid a country or a leader who does not support democratic ideas? The answer is obviously no. The U.S has already lost points in the "morals" category and does not need to lose anymore.Supporting a non-democratic country while fighting for democracy in another would make the U.S. seem hypocritical,and indeed it would be. The Bush adrministration needs to put its foot down. Although getting involved in another country's conflict is hardly what the United States wants to be doing at this time, in order to continue fighting for democracy in one counrty we must fight for it in other countries also,or risk losing credibility on the international stage. The Bush administration needs to back its' ideas fully,or else abandon them. They cannot be changing their minds according to the country or leader. Either fight for democracies in all nations,or do not fight for it in any.
I think that it is really risky for the United States to support what is going on in Pakistan. Ally or not, Musharraf is not a supporter of democracy, and that is a problem. The U.S. is probably the greatest example of democracy to the world, and by supporting the current situation in Pakistan where martial law has taken over would be against everything that we claim to believe in.
It is clear that Musharraf does not want a democracy, by the way he imposed martial law on the country and jailed so many innocent people. It really doesn't matter what he says, because his actions speak louder than anything he could say to explain what he is doing.
The United States should definately support democratic reforms and Benazir Bhutto, and we should help Pakistan become a democracy.
~Brittni W.
Pakistan needs a stable democracy. Musharraf is more concerned with his own political gain rather than his people. In the article, The Pakistan Mess, the author states that, "Ultimately, democracy, not dictatorship, is the best way for a stable Pakistan." The U.S. should not go by what Musharrf wants but by what the people of Pakistan want. The Bush Administration should support its allies, but only to an extent. Some of Musharraf’s ideas and plans are straying from the way of democracy. The U.S. should also support immediate democratic reforms and the popular appeal of Benazir Bhutto because it is what the people feel most comfortable with.
Brittany L.
No, President Bush and his Administration do not support President Musharraf. And who can blame them? He has pretty much turned his back on his alliance with the United States, and is a threat to his own country. As far as whether or not the US should support immediate democratic reforms or not, is any kind of reform immediate? Democracy in Pakistan has not taken hold yet, so what makes anybody think that we can change their ways in the blink of an eye? Yes, the US should support democratic reforms -- but it must be understood that it will not happen overnight. The US should be in charge of funding schools and programs to help the country function as a democracy. As far as Bhutto being appealed, I believe it is a good idea. Somebody needs to get Musharraf out of there and fast. The United States right now needs to focus on reconsidering their allegiance with President Musharraf, and push for a democratic reform in Pakistan.
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