Home Foreign Policy Articles Moderate Articles Musharraf Resignation Creates Uncertainty
Musharraf Resignation Creates Uncertainty E-mail
Written by Trucks2075   
CNN reports that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has announced his resignation today in a publicly aired address to the nation. This comes after months of political pressure from the opposing party; who won the majority in their parliament last February. A committee spent the last few weeks compiling a list of charges they intend to bring against Musharraf including: corruption, economic mismanagement, and ignoring their constitution. Moreover, Musharraf has been the target of criticism for opposing their Supreme Court in a political battle over term limits and his eligibility to run for another five year term as president.

According to Musharraf, "I don't want the people of Pakistan to slide deeper and deeper into uncertainty....For the interest of the nation; I have decided to resign as president. I am not asking for anything. I will let the people of Pakistan decide my future." Musharraf has been one of the United States' strongest allies in the Global War on Terror assisting in the mountains of Pakistan and the border of Afghanistan. The United States has sent him billions of dollars in aid and arms.

This raises interesting questions. Who will replace him? Will they be friendly to the West? They have nuclear weapons, how will we respond?

The Weapons of Mass Destruction argument may have worked well for our invasion of Iraq, but now we have definitive proof that nuclear weapons may end up in the hands of very bad people. Our military is stretched thin, Russia is testing our patience, Iran is saber rattling, and Venezuela is still a nasty thorn in our side. What is a super power to do?

Pajamamedia.com has a very intelligent article covering some of these questions. One line of thinking is that Musharraf provided a common source of hatred for all factions, and as a result united Pakistan - against him. Now that he is gone, the country will slip back into faction based skirmishes and bring the once growing economy to a screeching halt.

This turmoil isn't new to Pakistan; the country has been rooted in political confusion and economic despair though out the past forty years. Under Musharraf, however, the country began to show signs of real growth. His love of central power, allegiance to the West, and the assassination of Bhutto all helped foster the hatred for Musharraf. So, what will we do?

I don't know.

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