Who killed Benazir Bhutto? When assassins failed to murder her in October, many of her supporters blamed Pervez Musharraf, but she blamed Islamic militants. Who knows what she really thought? Both parties had something to gain from her murder back then, and that's true today as well.
Now the corrupt Pervez Musharraf is all that stands between Islamists and Pakistan's nuclear arsenal -- and Musharraf knows that this is how the US must perceive him. Now the Islamists know that the grief and anger over the murder will be directed at Musharraf, to their own benefit.
The US is in a no-win situation here. So is Pakistan. We could easily be looking at a revolution or military coup in the world's only nuclear-armed Islamic state. We could easily be welcoming a military coup as the worst thing possible -- except for an Islamist takeover. It's an incredibly fluid, incredibly dangerous situation. Musharraf's Pakistan, it seems to me, is far, far more of a threat to US national security than is Iraq.
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joel said:
"No. Support for Islamists in Pakistan has long been, and still remains, in single digits. The Pakistani military *hates* the Islamists."
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Joel: I'm not sure how the poll was worded, but according to this CNN article, OBL has the support of 46% of the Pakistani population:
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/09/11/poll.pakistanis/index.html
One thing that won't work in Pakistan is military intervention by the U.S. Muslim countries resent the U.S. as modern-day crusaders trying to impose their Christian will on the Moslem world. We would be well to look at the root causes of terrorism which include the global economy and its crass disregard for human life. As long as poverty is the norm and our unsustaninable ecenomic practices continue, there will be fertile ground for those offering an alternative to what many see as permanent oppression by the West and its corporate power. A problem is never solved at the level in which it occurs, but only at a higher level which includes a world community vision of compassion and caring for all.
The idea that terrorism is caused by poverty simply does not comform with reality and, in my opinion at least, has been thoroughly debunked:
“. . . . terrorism is less like property crime and more like a violent form of political engagement. More-educated people from privileged backgrounds are more likely to participate in politics, probably in part because political involvement requires some minimum level of interest, expertise … all of which are more likely if people are educated enough and prosperous enough to concern themselves with more than economic subsistence . . .”
http://www.alanalexandroff.com/nr-krueger.pdf
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As for the real root cause, I think this interviewer gets a little closer to the mark:
Scott Atran interviewing Abu Bashir:
Q: “What can the West, especially the US, do to make the world more peaceful?
ABB: They have to stop fighting Islam. That's impossible because it is sunnatullah [destiny, a law of nature], as Allah has said in the Koran. If they want to have peace, they have to accept to be governed by Islam.
. . .
SA: How can the American regime and its policies change?
ABB: We'll see. As long as there is no intention to fight us and Islam continues to grow there can be peace. This is the doctrine of Islam. Islam can't be ruled by others. Allah's law must stand above human law. There is no [example] of Islam and infidels, the right and the wrong, living together in peace.”
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?storyID=2 423&p=2
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