Thursday, December 27, 2007

Alas Bhutto

By Capt. Fogg

I wonder if Pakistanis are saying "God, I love freedom" today. I wonder when the idiot in chief will realize that elections in a country without stability or where stability exists only in the iron grip of a dictator, don't by themselves make a democracy.

I have no idea what the future holds for Pakistan and I have little idea what the growing chaos will mean for the US, that country's biggest supporter. I have no idea whether the most radical elements in the tribal areas will gain an advantage, or whether that country will long remain an ally, but I suspect that the upcoming elections are not landmarks on the long and tortuous path to modernity for Pakistan.

The only thing I am sure of is that our administration has no idea about how to promote liberal democracy here or abroad nor how to create the security and stability that such a condition needs in order to thrive. I'm convinced that no country so saturated with religious passion can be the host for freedom or achieve the reasonableness freedom requires.

I mourn not only Benazir Bhutto this morning, but for liberty and for peace.

Cross posted from Human Voices

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7 Comments:

Blogger Libby Spencer said...

Shocking and sad news. Great post Fogg.

10:42:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You blame the administration?

There's only one group responsible for this, and that's the terrorists who don't want democracy in Pakistan.

11:37:00 AM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

No, not directly, but by not having dealt with al Qaeda yet, we have allowed them to grow and prosper while we muck around in Iraq.

It's a bit like swatting flies and not dealing with the huge pile of manure that attracted them.

It's a bit simplistic - ridiculously simplistic to keep talking about "terrorists" which is a category so broad and amorphous that it's meaningless here. This is about people who want a government based on sharia law. It's not that religious extremists don't want democracy, they don't want a secularist and particularly a female secularist in power. Iran has a democracy and you don't see al Qaeda trying to blow it up.

1:37:00 PM  
Blogger nolocontendere said...

Check out this possible reason why she was murdered. Knew a little too much?

10:15:00 PM  
Blogger Capt. Fogg said...

The last video of Osama spawned a lot of conjecture about it being a double - maybe it was.

10:21:00 AM  
Blogger nolocontendere said...

Osama Bin Goldstein has been dead for years, good captain. It's truly a matter of public domain. Everything that is antithetical to the fascist power grab is blamed on their CIA front group the illogically omnipotent "Al Qaeda".
You wait and see - pretty soon there will be Al Qaeda in America sending out videos. That's when you and I magically become terrorist sympathizers.

1:56:00 PM  
Blogger nolocontendere said...

Osama Bin Goldstein has been dead for years, good captain. It's truly a matter of public domain. Everything that is antithetical to the fascist power grab is blamed on their CIA front group the illogically omnipotent "Al Qaeda".
You wait and see - pretty soon there will be Al Qaeda in America sending out videos. That's when you and I magically become terrorist sympathizers.

1:57:00 PM  

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