US Pressure on Musharraf is Counterproductive

US diplomat John Negroponte visited Pakistan over the week-end. His mission was to convince General President Pervez Musharraf to end the State of Emergency in that country and to ensure that free and fair elections go forward. Judging from the events in Pakistan in the last several hours, it is clear that Ambassador Negroponte's mission was a failure. Of course, it was clearly a doomed effort before he left Washington.

In Washington, there has been a perception since 1945, and perhaps earlier, that a nation's policies could be influenced by a visitor from the US carrying the express wishes of the president. The belief that America was in the right, on the side of the angels, meant that clients, allies and impartial neutrals could be persuaded to do Washington's bidding persists.

That was probably never the case, or if it were, it vanished before the end of the Korean War. Anyone who recalls the welcome Vice President Richard Nixon received in Latin America (rotten eggs and rocks thrown at this car) understands that the world was not, even then, blindly in love with American policy. Two botched wars into the Bush the Lesser administration, there is a blind hatred in some quarters, and certainly, there is vast suspicion along the sidelines of any move America makes. In the Muslim and Arab world, one finds the extreme expression of this mood.

So, when Mr. Negroponte got off the plane to tell General President Musharraf to end the state of emergency, the leader of Pakistan was placed in a difficult position. If he were to acquiesce, he would appear to be obeying orders from Washington. That is a fatal image in most of the world. Even his supporters would have a hard time with it. It would give the Fascislamists in Waziristan even more ammunition to use against him. And if he did not (and he did not), he remains a military dictator operating under emergency powers. That is certainly not why Mr. Negroponte racked up all those frequent flier miles.

In the meantime, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (not the real one, but the one the General President appointed in its stead) decided to throw out the lawsuits challenging the recent presidential election. The Musharraf regime now has 5 more years of power with a faint coating of legitimacy. This doesn't bring democratic rule any closer to Pakistan, and it makes Washington's speechifying about democracy and freedom more than ludicrous. It would have been much better to simply have the chief of mission call on someone in the Musharraf government and explain why the state of emergency needs to go. The General President might have had enough room to restore whatever counts as normal in Pakistan. Mr. Negroponte's visit took that room for maneuver away. No wonder the Busheviks don't like diplomacy -- it's another of the many things they don't know how to do.

© Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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