A noteworthy beneficiary of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's recent confession to the slaying of Daniel Pearl is of course Sheikh Omar Saeed. Because of Khalid's suddenly produced confession, Omar can now get off scot-free. How convenient. You see, another not-so-obvious beneficiary would be General Musharraf, who wouldn't have to worry about Omar going on trial and spilling the beans about all his past involvements with the Pakistani govt. Now that would be just a little embarrassing to the whole "War on Terror", now wouldn't it? We all remember Ollie North, don't we? It's not pleasant when your own agents testify in their own defense once they're publicly cornered by you.
There's a possibility that the US may be extracting some kind of quid-pro-quo from Mushy. That would likely be in the form of obtaining Mushy's help in laying the groundwork for a US attack on Iran. As we know, the Iranians are suddenly making loud growling noises at Pakistan over its un-neighborly behaviour. I'm wondering if Mushy may give the US access to AQ Khan in order for the Americans to more accurately gauge Iran's nuclear development.
Quid-pro-quo could also explain why the US govt is keeping mum about Pakistan's newest peace treaty with the tribals of Bajaur, as well as why the US is quietly supporting Musharraf in this latest public revolt. Unfortunately, the Pak public has a habit of being unpredictably uncooperative at the most inconvenient moments. The Americans better hope that their man Mushy doesn't end up like the Shah, before they can clobber his usurpers in Tehran.
1 comment:
Ragz, I would say that just because the US gives support to Mushy, won't necessarily mean it's enough to keep Mushy in power. Remember what happened to the Shah. In Pakistan's case though, there is no towering personage like Khomeini waiting in the wings. Besides, the Pakistanis have already had enough experience with Zia's Islamic rule to not trust in a mullah-ocracy.
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