Musharraf resigns

In true Nixsonian style Musharraf resigns. Per the NYT:

Facing the threat of impeachment, President Pervez Musharraf announced that he would resign, saying the charges against him were false but that he would step down for the sake of his nation.

Why in the blue hell won't our congress critters do this? Jesus Christ it isn't rocket science folks. This bag o shit has been in office for nine friggin years. Here is Musharraf's money quote:

“Unfortunately, there are some people who have self-interest, and they are putting their interests above those of the country,” he said. “Some people are trying to blame, me and they are making false accusations against me.”

Isn't that rich? If there isn't any evidence, why in the blue hell is this fuckwit resigning? Ah, but wait.....it gets better:

At the core of the talks has been Mr. Musharraf’s demand that he be immune from prosecution if he resigns before the impeachment proceedings begin.

The negotiations were bogged down over the legal technicalities of when immunity would be granted, according to a senior coalition official. The coalition was reluctant to grant immunity before Mr. Musharraf left office, because of fears that once he had won immunity he would not depart, said the official, who declined to be identified because of the delicacy of the talks.

Technical difficulties? Like when a tv channel goes out? Sigh...if only it was happening right here, right now m'dear reader....if only.

Tags: Musharraf, Musharraf resigns

Pakistan assembly to Musharraf: Resign or face possible Impeachment

From Jurist:

Pakistan's Punjab Provincial Assembly on Monday voted to ask President Pervez Musharraf to resign or face possible impeachment by the country's parliament. Of the body's 371 members, 321 voted for the motion, including the majority of Musharraf's own Pakistan Muslim League-Q party. In response to the vote and impeachment plans led by the country's coalition government, Musharraf stated he will fight the allegations of wrongdoing and asserted that the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) simply wants to impose their rule over his own. For the potential impeachment to succeed, it would require the endorsement of two-thirds of legislators in a joint session of parliament. The lower house of parliament was scheduled to meet later on Monday to consider the move. BBC News has more.

Why can't our Congress do this? It is a rhetorical question...

Pakistan-The unruly stepchild.

For all the millions we have sent to Pakistan, and specifically to Musharaf, we aren’t getting much of a return on our investment these days. With the new regime there being sworn in, the anti-american sentiment is running pretty high. Who can blame them for hating us? Being in the middle between Bush’s War on Terror and the tribal leaders who support the Al-Qaeda types can’t be a good place to be. From the TNR writeup:

To make matters worse, Pakistanis increasingly believe that they are paying the price for our war against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Pakistanis are interpreting the increasing terror attacks in the country as a direct response to the recent uptick in our bombing of Al Qaeda targets in the border areas. All of this means that a negative reaction to the arrival of senior U.S. envoys should not have been unexpected. Pakistanis believe that they are carrying out a democratic coup, sweeping away the illegitimate underpinnings of the Musharraf presidency, and are not about to take kindly to American efforts to shore up Musharraf or preserve his policies.

They want change–not just with Musharraf himself, but also with his policies for dealing with terror. The question for the U.S. is whether we can live with the change, and at the same time, manage it so that Al Qaeda and the Taliban not only don’t benefit, but also lose their sanctuary in Pakistan.

Change..its a good thing sometimes, but we really don’t know how Pakistan, a nuclear-laden country, will deal with America and the Terrorists yet. But the message is getting clearer as this part of the writeup notes:

One more irony: The big winner in the elections in the tribal areas was the Awami National Party (A.N.P.), which has long accused Musharraf and the Pakistani intelligence services of duplicity in its dealings with Islamist groups. The A.N.P. opposes talks with Al Qaeda and foreign militants because, as Afrasiab Khattak, the secretary general of the A.N.P., has said, “We don’t have a common language with them.” But the party does favor an approach that emphasizes dialogue with the local tribes, economic development and assistance to the area, and the use of the police rather than the military (except in limited circumstances) to bring peace to the provinces. If anything, Nawaz Sharif has been more outspoken about how to deal with terror, calling for talking rather than the use of force.

Talking to terrorists? What a novel approach! We, the universal we, will have to stay up to date with this situation as Bush's war in Afghanistan depends on how Pakistan deals with the Al-Qaeda strongholds in Waziristan.

Crossposted at Sirens Chronicles

Foreign leaders, going down edition..

Fidel isn't going to rule Cuba any longer. Wow wee, I knew this day would come..but it's not something you are ready for. He's sick and he now admits it. From the MSNBC writeup:

"I will not aspire nor accept — I repeat I will not aspire or accept — the post of President of the Council of State and Commander in Chief," read the letter signed by Castro and published quietly overnight without advance warning in the online edition of the Communist Party daily Granma.

Our second leader that might be noticing the writing on the wall is Musharraf of Pakistan. Can I get an amen on the election results? Lets hope no funny business takes place before the election is certified. From the NYT writeup:

Almost all the leading figures in the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, the party that has governed for the last five years under Mr. Musharraf, lost their seats, including the leader of the party, the former speaker of Parliament and six ministers.

Bush of course had something to say on both counts..however it's so worthless I won't be printing it here. Bush is our new Mr. Irrelevant you know.

Stop me if you have heard this one before..

Click pic for larger image

Al-Qaeda did it. Its all Al-Qaeda's fault. Every nasty, horrific thing that has transpired in the last 6 years is the fault of Al-Qaeda. This includes of course the killing of Benazir Bhutto.

Yeah right..

So why is it then that Robert Fisk draws many parallels today in his piece for the Independent that go directly to Musharraf? From Fisk's article:

It doesn't, after all, take much to comprehend that the hated elections looming over Musharraf would probably be postponed indefinitely if his principal political opponent happened to be liquidated before polling day. So let's run through this logic in the way that Inspector Ian Blair might have done in his policeman's notebook before he became the top cop in London.

Question: Who forced Benazir Bhutto to stay in London and tried to prevent her return to Pakistan? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who ordered the arrest of thousands of Benazir's supporters this month? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who placed Benazir under temporary house arrest this month? Answer: General Musharraf.

Question: Who declared martial law this month? Answer General Musharraf.

Question: who killed Benazir Bhutto?

Er. Yes. Well quite.

Tomorrows Independent has a good read up as well on this subject. Like, why didn't Bhutto's husband want an autopsy? In fact, according to the current Prime Minister of Pakistan..her husband insisted that there not be an autopsy. From Sunday's edition:

Suspicions over the complicity of Pervez Musharraf's government in the killing were fueled by its failure to order a postmortem, regardless of Mr Zardari's wishes, and the fact that the scene of the bombing was washed down with a high-pressure hose within an hour, removing potential forensic evidence. Under the criminal law of Pakistan, an autopsy should have been mandatory, according to a leading lawyer, Athar Minallah.

"It is absurd because without autopsy it is not possible to investigate," he said. "Is the state not interested in reaching the perpetrators of this heinous crime, or was there a cover-up?"

Christ, what a mess, what a coverup..what a freaking bunch of hooey.

Tags: Musharraf, Bhutto, Zardari

Like her father and brothers..Bhutto silenced.

Bhutto had a better shot at ferreting out Al-Qaeda than Musharraf on his best day. She knocked their dicks in the dirt in the 90's and would do it again.

Musharraf..not so much. Billions of our bucks can't get that fuckwit to wipe out the Al-Qaeda strongholds.

Her family history of assassination had to of crossed her mind many times since she went home to Pakistan. Now, there is no one to step into her shoes.

Kind of leaves the field open for Musharraf doesn't it? He gained by her death today. Methinks he was culpable. A strong woman in a Muslim nation is a threat and she had to have known that.

She would of created a secular government. Her muslim faith was anchored in moderation. She was educated at Harvard and Oxford for the love of pete. This woman had to of known the risks and still went forward with her movement to bring Democracy to Pakistan.

Bush of course is backing the wrong horse..figures. Like Musharraf he gave lip service to Bhutto's murder today, giving all of 10 minutes of his time to speak to his BFF Musharraf about what today's assassination means to the upcoming elections in Pakistan.

Bhutto had mainstream support and she knew it and Musharraf knew it. Now, its all gone to shit and the status quo will be maintained as long as Musharraf stays in power.

The status quo is Al-Qaeda will continue to to reign and Musharraf will continue to stall and take our money with a smile on his lips.

Damn fucking shame if you ask me. Fucking criminal too...

Pakistani's protest anyway..

From MSNBC we get the following video. Musharraf also arrested 12 of the 17 Supreme Court justices in an attempt to keep them from ruling that he was no longer eligible to stay on as 'President" of Pakistan. This is more about power than it is about quelling Al-Qaeda my dear reader.


Clashes after Pakistan crackdown

Tags: Pakistan, marshall law, Musharraf

Going to hell in a handbasket..Pakistan-style

Have you been paying attention to Pakistan? Its all going downhill at warp speed there. Today, the lil Dictator, aka General Pervez Musharraf, had all the activists and lawyers rounded up and arrested. Via the IHT link, we get the newest:

About 500 opposition party workers, lawyers and human rights activists were arrested Sunday as the government of General Pervez Musharraf tried to consolidate its control after imposing emergency rule.

About a dozen privately run television news stations remained off the air, and international channels, including the BBC and CNN, were suspended. In the city of Lahore, police officers armed with tear gas tried to break up a meeting of regime opponents at the headquarters of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission. They took dozens of people away in police vans.

Around the country, at least 80 lawyers were arrested in an apparent bid to head off demonstrations that lawyers' groups had planned for Monday.

Of course, the US official position is strained at the moment, and it leaves little to the imagination. It seems Bush's dance partner left the party with someone else..

A U.S.-backed military dictator who is risking civil instability in a country with nuclear weapons and an increasingly alienated public.

Nukes..these folks have nukes my dear reader. Shaky fingers should not be anywhere near that special button..or phone, whatever the case may be. Condo said whatever she could without really saying anything. This also is an important fact that shouldn't be lost:

The United States has given more than $10 billion in aid to Pakistan since 2001, and much of it goes to the military.

Damn, that is money down the fucking drain ain't it, our propped-up head of state went off the deep end? And don't get me started about the nukes..arresting people because of their beliefs and nothing more?

But BushCo will stand behind their lil dictator..you know that right? Oh man, and get this...

Musharraf quoted Abraham Lincoln when he read his State of Emergency decree on State-run tv Saturday night..I shit you not.

Benazir Bhutto said: "This is not emergency, this is martial law." (emphasis mine for obvious reasons)

Tags: Pakistan, Musharaf, nukes and nutjobs