http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070326/wl_sthasia_afp/uspakistanpolitics _070326061116;_ylt=AkDFqvVr1L2VzWlyg7GB5MvzPukA
US-Pakistan alliance under scrutiny as Musharraf faces crisis The US strategic partnership with its key "war on terror" ally Pakistan has come under growing scrutiny in Washington as President Pervez Musharraf reels from his worst crisis since grabbing power eight years ago. Concerns that Musharraf has not been doing enough to flush out extremist Taliban militia were compounded this month by his removal of a top judge that appeared to deal a blow to hopes of democratic progress in the South Asian state. While it is not clear whether the judicial crisis will snowball, it has "shaken the aura of invincibility that Musharraf has enjoyed until now," the Washington-based Center of Strategic and Intelligence Studies said in a report. The threat to Musharraf's grip on power has rekindled fears in Washington whether a strategic relationship anchored in effect by one man in Pakistan is sustainable in the long run. "The US strategic partnership with Pakistan is in a troubled state," said Marvin Weinbaum, a former US State Department expert on Pakistan. "It rests too heavily on the political survival of one man and a military rule facing formidable domestic challenges and declining legitimacy," he said. Washington's preoccupation with counterterrorism since the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States has in effect given Musharraf "a pass on satisfying us on the issues of democracy, nuclear proliferation and extremism," Weinbaum said. President George W. Bush's administration has ruled out any immediate threat of Musharraf being toppled, but the Democratic-controlled US Congress is not taking chances. "What we truly need in Pakistan is someone else to talk to," said Democrat lawmaker Gary Ackerman (news, bio, voting record), who heads a House of Representatives panel on South Asia. "The administration seems content to only speak with president Musharraf and portrays him as the indispensable man. The truth is, for our goals to be achieved in Pakistan, there should be more than one phone number there to dial," he said. In fact, several senior senate Democrats have written to Musharraf, asking him to ensure that the coming polls were open and free with participation of key political parties of exiled ex-prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. "The single most concrete measure of progress would be to allow all legitimate parties and candidates to contest the elections, including the senior leadership of the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League," said the letter. Among the signatories was Senator Joseph Biden (news, bio, voting record), head of the powerful senate foreign relations committee. Bhutto, who heads the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), has reportedly clinched a contract with a US lobbying firm to push for free elections in the country. The United States should "extend contacts and visibility with a variety of civilian leaders" in Pakistan, said Lisa Curtis of the Washington-based Heritage Foundation. Although the military is unlikely to submit fully to a civilian government in the near term, Washington should set benchmarks that begin to restrict the military's role in Pakistani politics, she said. If Musharraf continues to renege on his promise to shed his uniform, his legitimacy could be seriously challenged, "if not in the courts then in the streets," Weinbaum warned. Against the ominous political backdrop in Pakistan, the United States is concerned about further losses in the battlefield. It has openly linked Pakistan to the raging insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan, where US and NATO troops face an uphill battle against the Taliban preparing for a major spring offensive. Pakistan helped the Taliban to power in 1996 but dropped the hardline movement in 2001 after the September 11 attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda, whose leader Osama bin Laden was sheltered in Afghanistan. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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