A Clear Chance to Stand for Democracy

Byron A Ellis

November 07, 2007

General Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan and Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan, came to power in a coup d’etat. He ousted an elected government and has suspended Pakistan’s constitution twice. And, he is now terrorizing his opposition.

The Bush administration pays Musharraf $150 million per month. Therefore, it is likely that Musharraf is using US taxpayer dollars to terrorize his opposition.

If Musharraf was not a Bush ally, he would be labeled a terrorist and US taxpayers’ funds would be cut off.

Bush facing a crisis of vision is know attempting to lecture Musharraf by telling him that he cannot be president and head of the military at the same time. Why has Bush waited until now to convey this message?

Musharraf has 150 million reasons to remain in power, so why should he listen to the leader of a country with few viable options in the Pakistani-Afghan region. Musharraf’s calculation is that the Bush administration cannot afford to curtail the only leverage that they have, the $150 million per month payoff.

The funding to Musharraf could be use to pay for health insurance of low-income US children. However, the administration and Republicans in congress would rather sponsor a dictator than health care of those that they will use in the future to fight their wars.

According to Cohen and Chollet, The Washington Quarterly, Spring 2007, during the past five years, the Bush administration has spent more than $10 billion in assistance, mainly military aid, to Pakistan. They noted, “What Pakistan gives in return may be only enough to keep the money coming.”

Cohen and Chollet also indicated that the US need to improve its understanding of the ordinary Pakistani and develop an assistance strategy to satisfy their needs. They also predicted that if Washington approach to Pakistan relies on blind faith, both Musharraf and the US policy would be in jeopardy.

Benazir Bhutto, however, may become a lifeline to the Bush administration. She can, with assistance from the international community, facilitate Pakistan’s transition to democracy.

The Bush administration should indicate to Musharraf that his regime will be labeled a terrorist regime and US funds will be cut off if he does not lifts the state of emergency, forgo his military role, and hold elections in January of 2008.