POSTED RESPONSE TO A COLUMN IN THE TORONTO GLOBE AND MAIL
Marcus, as usual, doesn't know what he's writing about.
A big billow of wind without any analysis.
I'm no defender of dictators, but sometimes they happen to be right.
And more frequently than some like Marcus is likely to understand, democracies can be wrong and even evil.
Power is power no matter how it is granted, and it is often abused. Look at Bush the thug. Look at apartheid, murderous Israel. Look at the American South right up to the 1960s.
Musharraf is in American parlance a patriot. He has been desperately resisting Bush's efforts to push American forces into his country. America effectively wants to turn its war on terror into an internal war in Pakistan. What fair-minded leader would allow that?
We've had a number of incidents like the Americans blowing up a madrassa school, killing 80 innocent teenagers a while back. They tried to blame Musharraf, but he wasn't accepting the blame.
What they really want to do is send thousands of their armored thug special forces into Pakistan to terrorize residents the way they have in Afghanistan.
Musharraf's refusal has turned him instantly from good ally to pariah dictator. It's a complete set-up. And the resources of the U.S. has the resources to make its wishes look like reality.
The U.S. sent Bhutto over because she was viewed as more amenable to their wishes. She went with Bush's blessing and undoubtedly pockets full of CIA cash. Bush sent her to her death. Millions in Pakistan do not want U.S. intrusion and she paid the price.
As for Putin, he is not a dictator. Only an ignorant person would say that he is. He is bringing Russia out of its Depression and giving Russians a new opportunity. He also represents important future balance against American arrogance, which is likely just why Marcus doesn't like him.
By the way Putin's election was cleaner than Bush's.
