Trouble In Pakistan

I have been remiss in not addressing the events in Pakistan yet. A lot has been going on, and it's significant stuff, so I'll try to catch you up here (hopefully I won't mess up any of the important details).

General Pervez Musharraf is currently the President of Pakistan. He came to power through a coup several years ago as the head of the military. At the time, he was considered a big ally of the United States in the efforts against Al Qaeda and other Islamic extremists.

Recently, terrorist activity has been giving Musharraf some major problems, with violence escalating all over. The public has been upset that Musharraf (and the military) hasn't gotten things under control, especially given that he is receiving huge amounts of U.S. funding. Musharraf has also had issues with the Supreme Court, who appeared ready to declare his presidency invalid.

In response, Musharraf suspended the Pakistani constitution and Supreme Court, and declared martial law to 'keep the peace' and protect against the rising threat of terrorism. Thousands of civilians were arrested, including many lawyers and political opponents.

Obviously, this went over like a load of bricks.

The Bush administration has strongly urged Musharraf to re-establish the constitution and Court, as well as to have free elections quickly. They also arranged for Benazir Bhutto, a former prime minister, to return from exile to help with the electoral process, and Musharraf initially agreed to hold elections in January. But, he also stated that his emergency rule will remain in effect until the election, which inherently throws the election into a questionable light.

The Bush administration is increasing the pressure on Musharraf, suggesting he should step down as General and hold elections as soon as possible, but he seems to be rebuffing their urgings. Bhutto is organizing massive demonstrations to make Musharraf capitulate, and seems to be working in concert (at least to some extent) with the U.S. At least, she was until she and other opposition leaders were arrested. And that, of course, only strengthens the fears of Musharraf's intentions.

Musharraf has pledged to step aside as General when the Supreme Court recognize his right to be President, but that does not seem likely.

The U.S. is now looking at other options, indicating a potential shift in U.S. policy toward Musharraf. Other leaders in Pakistan's army are becoming increasingly concerned at the developments, as well as the lack of success against Al Qaeda. In addition, having to worry about civilian protests is taking away from their ability to fight the terrorists. It appears the hope of the Bush administration is that by threatening to withdraw American funding from Musharraf will prompt these other army leaders to peacefully oust Musharraf from leadership, thus allowing free elections to take place and install a legitimate government. Playing hardball is being advocated by people outside the U.S. government, too.

So, that's a rough report of the events leading up to where we are right now. You may be asking why this should matter to you. In my opinion, the main reason is that Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

Obviously, if chaos ensues in Pakistan, there is an increased chance (although not a particularly large chance) that nuclear weapons could fall into the hands of Al Qaeda.

I'll try to keep up with this story as it develops.

There's my two cents.