Our Man in Pakistan

AP photo / J. Scott Applewhite
"Truthdig"

By Robert Scheer
So, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, treated ever so respectfully by George Bush throughout his administration, in which he became the first Pakistani leader to visit Camp David, has turned out to be just another crummy dictator. But he was our dictator, kind of a modern, even westernized one who could stand up to all those bearded Islamic terrorists.

Well, not exactly. Not that anyone bothered to remember, but Musharraf seized power in Pakistan, ending democratic rule, two years before the 9/11 attacks and did nothing to end his nation’s support of the Taliban rulers next door, who were harboring Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida. Before that he was part of a military elite that had, as the 9/11 Commission report would later conclude, been one of the main sponsors of the Taliban. Nor did Musharraf as dictator-president do anything to undermine the nut cases that he continued to diplomatically recognize as the legitimate rulers of the neighboring country. “On terrorism, Pakistan helped nurture the Taliban,” the 9/11 Commission reported, adding: “Many in the government have sympathized with or provided support to the extremists. Musharraf agreed that Bin Laden was bad. But before 9/11, preserving good relations with the Taliban took precedence.”

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