Dropping Another H(illary)-Bomb

Hmm...I wonder if a single al-Qaeda or Taliban fighter would be hard-pressed to disagree with the following:

"I don't think the Pakistani government at this time under President Musharraf has any credibility at all. They have disbanded an independent judiciary. They have oppressed a free press,"

-Hillary Clinton, Dec 28, 2007

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton reacts to cheering supporters during a campaign stop in Dubuque, Iowa December 29, 2007.

REUTERS/Andy Clark

A year ago, when the Musharraf government made the Waziristan Accord, basically surrendering the region to Islamic fighters, there was heavy criticism leveled at Musharraf, and rightly so. Appeasement of Islamic militants only seems to encourage and embolden them, giving them the time and space needed to train, plan, and recruit. Yet the Bush Administration did not publically criticize the move as vociferously as the pundits. Why not? Daveed Gartenstein-Ross & Bill Roggio offered this explanation:

They aren't ignorant of the problems with the accord. Rather, it seems that their concern is Musharraf's retreat from Waziristan and release of prisoners suggest he may be losing his grip on power. And as bad as Musharraf has been of late, things would be far worse if, in a critical Muslim nation with nuclear weapons, a relatively pro-Western leader were replaced by al Qaeda-linked fundamentalists.

In my previous post, I mentioned the dangers of not supporting the Musharraf government. The death of Bhutto does not help Musharraf, but only brings Pakistan closer to the brink of civil war and chaos. If the country does go this route, then those who planned and executed Bhutto's murder will have successfully brought about the Pakistan equivalent to the bombing of the Golden Mosque of Samarra.

Musharraf's leadership is like a car precariously balanced on a cliff, teetering on the edge. Irresponsible statements from U.S. leaders- especially U.S. presidential candidates- is the equivalent of throwing rocks at the car. It may not topple the car off the cliff....but it certainly doesn't help keep the car from going over.

As James Lewis at American Thinker writes,

Suppose you're a Pakistani Army commander. You now know that a major candidate in the United States hates your boss. But the Pak Army is the only thing holding the country together.

Every world leader is walking on tippy-toes for fear Pak will explode. But Senator Hillary Clinton just exploited the tragedy of Bhutto's death in the most cynical and self-serving way, by tossing a smoking bomb at President Musharraf and cheerfully yelling "Catch!"

If Musharraf is killed or forcefully removed from power, at this critical juncture in history, would that make the world a safer or a more dangerous place? Musharraf with nukes is not a threat to the free world. Islamic militants with nukes.....now there's a problem.