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Democracy isn't the best medicine for Pakistan
National Post ^ | 2007-12-28 | George Jonas

Posted on 12/28/2007 3:17:09 AM PST by Clive

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1 posted on 12/28/2007 3:17:12 AM PST by Clive
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To: Alberta's Child; albertabound; AntiKev; backhoe; Byron_the_Aussie; Cannoneer No. 4; ...

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2 posted on 12/28/2007 3:17:38 AM PST by Clive
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To: Clive

“But the bomb is ticking. Literally. Iran may wish to have the Muslim bomb, but Pakistan already has it. The question is: Is this the ideal classroom for Democracy 101? I wonder if the late Shah of Iran ever appears in Musharraf’s dreams.”

Exactly. Our naivity may be very costly, not just to Pakistan, but to us.

Also — you post interesting articles. Could you please put me on your ping list. Thanks.


3 posted on 12/28/2007 3:26:34 AM PST by FocusNexus
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To: Clive
I wonder if the late Shah of Iran ever appears in Musharraf's dreams.

Or Jimmy Carter, with George Bush's face.

4 posted on 12/28/2007 3:48:59 AM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: FocusNexus
Democracy's feeble candle is a pinpoint of light in the pitch-black night of autocracy

I'm getting tired of the misuse of the word "autocracy." It means rule by a single person, as opposed to rule by all the people or a small group.

Autocracy is not the real problem in Pakistan, where for a number of years now the mildly oppressive autocracy of Musharraf has been the only thing preventing the country's being taken over by Islamist nutjobs. Anybody who thinks the corrupt "democratic" politicians of Pakistan have the potential to effectively contest control of the country with the Islamist nutjobs without themselves using "undemocratic" means need to find something else to smoke.

5 posted on 12/28/2007 3:49:24 AM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: Sherman Logan

“the mildly oppressive autocracy of Musharraf has been the only thing preventing the country’s being taken over by Islamist nutjobs. Anybody who thinks the corrupt “democratic” politicians of Pakistan have the potential to effectively contest control of the country with the Islamist nutjobs without themselves using “undemocratic””

Precisely. It is quite frustrating that the US government can be that naive.


6 posted on 12/28/2007 3:53:11 AM PST by FocusNexus
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To: Clive

The best medicine for Pakistan is killing all the war lords and Al Queda sympathizers in the North East part of the country.


7 posted on 12/28/2007 3:57:10 AM PST by kjam22 (see me play the guitar here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noHy7Cuoucc)
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To: kjam22

That means wiping out a substantial chunk of it’s Army.


8 posted on 12/28/2007 4:01:07 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Something we can do in 90 days if we really want to.


9 posted on 12/28/2007 4:04:30 AM PST by kjam22 (see me play the guitar here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noHy7Cuoucc)
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To: kjam22

90 days is too long if the People’s Republic of China happens to get involved-they are afterall,the Paki Junta’s guardian angel.

Then there is the whole issue of a nuke or 2 going off-is the US prepared for dealing with that??


10 posted on 12/28/2007 4:06:22 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: Clive

I don’t think Canada is ready for democracy either.


11 posted on 12/28/2007 4:06:47 AM PST by Kozak (Anti Shahada: There is no god named Allah, and Muhammed is a false prophet)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

China isn’t going to do anything. They want to keep selling their toys to us. We should have taken those war lords and Al Queda sympathizers out years ago.


12 posted on 12/28/2007 4:10:12 AM PST by kjam22 (see me play the guitar here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noHy7Cuoucc)
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To: kjam22

Bush has GOT to send in Special Forces into the Tribal areas and get it done. The terrorist and Taliban can live there and make plans to kill civilization and do this undisturbed, the most senseless thing we have done so far in this war on terror.........They the terrorist are cultivating hundreds (Estimate based on what I have seen on Fox News) of new recruits each day in the Tribal Areas


13 posted on 12/28/2007 4:10:42 AM PST by Mojohemi
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To: Kozak
I don’t think Canada is ready for democracy either.

We all know that Europe certainly isn't. We have been over there over 60 years since WWII and they still cannot get it down right.

14 posted on 12/28/2007 4:12:38 AM PST by RetiredArmy (Better prepare, come Nov 08, we have a Marxist Commissar President and Marxist Congress.)
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To: kjam22

Are you sure about that?????The PRC sold nuke designs & missiles to Pakistan to keep India on edge-so don’t expect them to sit by & watch Uncle Sam walk in.They are building a joint deepwater port on Pakistan’s Western Makran coast & there are plans to build oil/gas pipelines from Iran via Baluchistan & up through Pakistan’s Northern Areas to Chinese territory.That would save China billions in foreign exchange.So do you seriously expect them to sit by & watch.

Unless ofcourse Pakistan descends into a complete civil war,where they can do little.


15 posted on 12/28/2007 4:13:04 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: Mojohemi

Bush should have done that 6 years ago.


16 posted on 12/28/2007 4:13:42 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: sukhoi-30mki

They’ll sit by and watch. Our President (who I voted for twice and still like) made a couple of incredible speeches after 9-11. We’re going to hunt down terrorists etc. Treat those that harbor them just like terrorists etc. Big words that I knew at the time he wasn’t prepared to really do.


17 posted on 12/28/2007 4:17:58 AM PST by kjam22 (see me play the guitar here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noHy7Cuoucc)
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To: Kozak
I don’t think Canada is ready for democracy either.

"Democracy is coming to the USA."- Leonard Cohen

18 posted on 12/28/2007 5:26:23 AM PST by period end of story (You need cooling, baby I'm not fooling)
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To: sukhoi-30mki
there are plans to build oil/gas pipelines from Iran via Baluchistan & up through Pakistan’s Northern Areas to Chinese territory.

Them be ambitious plans. Perhaps the most challenging terrain on earth.

19 posted on 12/28/2007 5:32:01 AM PST by Sherman Logan
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To: sukhoi-30mki

“Then there is the whole issue of a nuke or 2 going off-is the US prepared for dealing with that??”

Nope. The U.S. would be foolish to launch an attack against Pakistan.


20 posted on 12/28/2007 5:39:10 AM PST by DodoDreamer
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