Another Screwup

Good grief! It’s so bad in Pakistan, the lawyers are fighting for principle. Instead of orange saffron robes they wear black suits, but their country’s supreme leader seems to have taken a leaf out of Burma generals’ book on how to suppress their discontent.

There is one teensy weensy difference, of course. Pakistan is a U.S. ally to the tune of $10 billion. And yet all President Bush seems to have the power to do about the brutal crackdown is to whimper that his buddy Gen. Musharraf should “restore democracy as quickly as possible.”

Right now, however, the country’s military is waging its campaign against democracy. Considering the fact that Taliban insurgents are running roughshod over them in the hinterlands, the generals probably feel like they need a victory over someone. Beating and arresting dissidents, they say, will advance their war against terror. Go figure.

Score another foreign policy triumph for the United States and the president’s “Freedom Agenda.” But this time it’s not about a dangerous country trying to create a nuclear arsenal, it’s about a dangerous country that already has one, and a lot of extremists who would love to get their hands on it.

While Pakistan decides whether to go ahead with its scheduled elections, we are a year away from ours. One of the highest priorities for the winner will be to try and clean up the unbelievable global mess this administration will leave behind.