Bush and Musharraf
Bush's grasp of reality seems as spot on as ever, more's the pity.
President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."
Well, I suppose when when you consider the Bush definition of democracy . . .
As for the sheer ridiculousness of the "crossed the line" bit, the quote from Biden about sums it up.
"What exactly would it take for the president to conclude Musharraf has crossed the line? Suspend the constitution? Impose emergency law? Beat and jail his political opponents and human rights activists?" asked Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a presidential candidate. "He's already done all that. If the president sees Musharraf as a democrat, he must be wearing the same glasses he had on when he looked in Vladimir Putin's soul."
It's bad enough the US has to deal with people like this as a function of their foreign policy, but the sheer and utter hypocrisy that surrounds those dealings just makes everything else they say about democracy promotion, human rights, and peace initiatives that much more suspect and less credible.
