Seize Thee Ruthless King!
by Christopher Brauchli

Ruin seize thee ruthless King!
Confusion on thy banners wait
Though fanned by Conquest's crimson wing
They mock the air with idle state. -- Thomas Gray, The Bard
It's been kind of confusing what with Pervez Musharraf being in
Washington eagerly awaiting the publication of his book (and also
getting to see George Bush), the F-16s being almost ready for delivery
and George Bush getting confused and actually thinking for a brief
time that Pakistan was a sovereign nation. It all started the week
before Mr. Musharraf came to Washington.

It was during that week that Mr. Bush said that Pakistan was a
sovereign nation. It happened at a press conference in which he was
asked why he opposed sending troops into Pakistan to look for Osama
bin Laden. Explaining his opposition he said: "First of all, Pakistan
is a sovereign nation. In order for us to send thousands of troops
into a sovereign nation, we've got to be invited by the government of
Pakistan." (No one asked him whether Iraq had been a sovereign nation
before it became a Bush fiefdom.) Pakistan remained a sovereign nation
(in Mr. Bush's mind) until the next week when, asked what he'd do if
Osama bin Laden or a high ranking al-Qaida leader was found in
Pakistan Mr. Bush said he would "absolutely " order U.S. military
strikes on targets inside Pakistan. In less than a week Pakistan had
ceased to be a sovereign nation. Unaware of his country's loss of
sovereignty, Mr. Musharraf said, "We wouldn't like to allow that at
all. We will do it ourselves."

The week grew even stranger when, in an interview on CBS's 60
Minutes
in which Mr. Musharraf was promoting his book that went on sale two
days after the broadcast, he revealed that right after 9/11 Deputy
Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, told Mr. Musharraf that if he
failed to cooperate with the United States in its hunt for Osama bin
Laden, the United States would bomb Pakistan back into the Stone Age.

Before 9/11, Pakistan had been one of very few countries that
had
diplomatic ties with the Taliban. Not wanting to return to the Stone
Age, Pakistan promptly broke off relations with the Taliban and Mr.
Musharraf became one of Mr. Bush's good friends. Mr. Armitage, of
course, denied he'd ever threatened Pakistan and Mr. Musharraf
declined to comment when asked about the denial at a press briefing
with Mr. Bush because, as he explained, he was sworn to
pre-publication secrecy by his publisher. That was quite
understandable.

Not being bombed back into the Stone-Age by a trigger happy
Bush, was
not Mr. Musharraf's only reward for cutting off relations with the
Taliban. There was the obvious reward of having George Bush as a
friend. During a 2004 Christmas time visit to the White House by Mr.
Musharraf, Mr. Bush said: "There is nobody more dedicated in the
protection of his own people than President Musharraf." Mr. Musharraf
would have had to look long and hard to find a Pakistani to make such
a statement. And that was not his only reward. Another was being
permitted to buy a bunch of F-16 airplanes.

In the late 1980s the United States had promised to sell F-16s
to
Pakistan but changed its mind after Pakistan had made a substantial
down payment. The planes were not delivered. A suit by Pakistan to
recover its down payment was eventually settled. In 2005, as a reward
for Mr. Musharraf's friendship, Pakistan was again told it could buy
the planes. Until Mr. Musharraf's most recent visit to Washington, it
had been thought the deal would be finalized any day. That has all
changed.

On September 22, 2006, it was reported that Pakistan is having
second
thoughts about the planes. That's because it has learned that the
planes are to be delivered without electronic warfare systems that are
reportedly "vital for real time monitoring". That means that the
planes' radars are only programmed to detect enemy aircraft that are
non-NATO aircraft such as China or India. If Pakistan gets into a war
with a NATO country it would be at a big disadvantage since its radar
would not detect the presence of those enemy aircraft. (What
particular NATO country Pakistan thinks it might get into a war with
is unclear but Mr. Bush's friends have lots of ways of surprising us.)

As a result of the disclosure of this omission of equipment, the
Pakistani weekly, Friday Times, said Pakistan's signing of the "letter
of acceptance" has been postponed. According to the Friday Times a
Pakistani official said: "So the signing deal is off. . . . . But the
entire deal is likely to spark much more debate and change before
finalization." It's not hard to see why. As I said at the outset, the
week was confusing. Most weeks under George's rule are.

For Christopher Brauchli's political commentary see his web page
Human
Race and Other Sports. Email to:

Seize Thee Ruthless King!
On September 22, 2006, it was reported that Pakistan is having

thoughts about the planes. That's because it has learned that the planes

to be delivered without electronic warfare systems that are reportedly
"vital for real time monitoring". That means that the planes' radars are
only programmed to detect enemy aircraft that are non-NATO aircraft such

China or India. If Pakistan gets into a war with a NATO country it would

at a big disadvantage since its radar would not detect the presence of

enemy aircraft. (What particular NATO country Pakistan thinks it might get
into a war with is unclear but Mr. Bush's friends have lots of ways of
surprising us.)