But What About Democracy?

This is a short post to note the universal opposition to democracy in Pakistan exhibited by the entire spectrum of US political thought.

I've read liberal bloggers who say that China is really the foreign force with the most influence. I've read liberal bloggers who say cutting Musharraf off from US funds would be a form of interference in Pakistans politics.

I have not read the US liberal blogger who says the US should take the principled stance and refuse to support Pakistan's politicians unless they hold fair contested elections in which the people of Pakistan decide among the most popular contestants.

I have not read the US liberal blogger who calls for the US even publicly ask the Saudis to release Sharif so that he can participate in Pakistan's elections.

The chain reaction responsible for the abandonment of liberal ideals starts with Israel. Given that the US has and will continue to support Israel, the US will have to broadly and publicly support unpopular dictators such as the Abdullahs of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and Mubarak of Egypt, and also through its trade and technology policies, it must ensure that the Arab and Muslim worlds do not have access to technology comparable to Israel's access.

As the US takes these actions, the necessary manifestation of its support for Israel, broad portions of the populaces of Muslim countries will oppose the US and be sympathetic with violent opposition to the US. Not just Palestine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, but in every country with a population that fails to empathize with Israel's Jews more strongly than they do with Arabs - including Iraq and Pakistan.

The chain visibly reaches Pakistan when the US, and the entire US political spectrum, is unable to support democracy in Pakistan. The $10 billion the US has paid Musharraf over the last 7 years as a bribe to fight an unpopular war against Al-Qaeda is as much a cost of supporting Israel as the $15 or so billion the US injected directly into Israel's budget. The cost of the occupation of Iraq, maybe a trillion dollars when its all counted out is another cost of supporting Israel in opposition to the Muslim world.