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We Need a Pakistan Policy
The international community is deeply concerned about the stability of Pakistan this week after General Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday, suspending the country's constitution and cracking down on political opposition by arresting thousands of dissenters, journalists, and activists. The pictures and video coming out of the country paint a distressing portrait of a country in crisis.
I've been saying for some time that Pakistan is probably the most dangerous and complex country we deal with. If I were president today, I would be on the phone with Musharraf myself and make clear to him the risk to Pakistani-US relations if he does not restore the constitution, permit free and fair elections and take off his uniform as promised.
Unfortunately, I have heard nothing in my briefings from current administration officials to suggest that George Bush has any notion as to our next step in addressing this crisis. We have been told that this state of martial law will last only a few days, but let's not kid ourselves.
Going forward, we need to keep three things in mind:
First, we have a huge stake in making sure Pakistan's moderate majority has a voice and an outlet with elections. If they don't, they may make common cause with the fundamentalists, just like the Shah's opponents did in Iran. But if the fundamentalists wind up in power, it will be much worse than Iran, because Pakistan already has nuclear weapons and the missile delivery systems to put our allies and security interests in the region in harm's way.
Second, we should move from a Musharraf policy to a Pakistan policy. We need to build a new relationship with the Pakistani people, with more non-military aid, sustained over a long period of time, so that the moderate majority has a chance to succeed. I'm going to be speaking in detail to this on Thursday in New Hampshire at Saint Anselm College.
Third, connect the dots: Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are all linked. Far from operating in a vacuum, what we do in one place profoundly affects the others. For example, because we shifted our resources away from Afghanistan to Iraq, Musharraf concluded the Taliban would rebound and he would be better off cutting a deal with them. Now, we're so tied down in Iraq we can't take the pressure off him in Afghanistan. And all this talk of war with Iran only makes it harder for moderates in Pakistan and Afghanistan to cooperate with us.
We are in a very tough spot, and our policy options have been limited by this administration's refusal to accept the complexity of our situation in the Middle East. While the burden is on Musharraf today to restore Pakistan's constitution, we must also act and bring this war in Iraq to a responsible conclusion. It is the only way to restore our place in the world and regain our ability to respond to the many challenges we face as a nation here at home and abroad.
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A foreign policy based on something other than bellicosity, sanctions and/or bribery might be a bit more enlightened and far more effective.
ya think ?
Why should we be surprised about this. Pakistan has always been under some type of military rule for a long time. Do you honesty think that democracy will come?
American leaders, either Democratic or Republican, have over time chosen leaders in other countries with dictatorships all in the name of "in our best interest". But in time, they become unstable and turn against America.
However, Pakistan has nuclear weapons and in whose interest should it be in if they should fall.
We have gotton ourselves in a pickle if we have to go into another Muslin country especially one with nuclear weapons.
DEAF TO WISDOM
Seantor Biden writes:
While the burden is on Musharraf today to restore Pakistan's constitution, we must also act and bring this war in Iraq to a responsible conclusion. It is the only way to restore our place in the world and regain our ability to respond to the many challenges we face as a nation here at home and abroad.
Apollo says:
Until the President wakes up from his Wilsonian dream of liberalizing Iraq and the greater Middle East he will remain deaf to Biden's wise advice, and things will go from bad to worse in the region and beyond.
When the President of the U.S. (the most powerful military in the world} get up on the national stage and proclaims that we are headed toward WWIII, all these countries start choosing sides and drawing lines. Aren't you and the Rep. going to be suprised when all of the military power in the world does not win the hearts and minds of the majority of people and we will lose that war. Pakistan has been hanging on by a thread since we went int Afgan.
Why are we so suprised that those factions are feeling thier oats and flexing their muscles against a weakened America. They smell blood and it will take some swift footwork to pull us out of this. Do you think Bush and Cheney are capable of the swift footwork needed for the job.No.
I know that you want show that you are strong on foreign policies. However, you better hold your finger to the wind. We are getting very, very tired of supporting the world. We are ready to pull in the dollars and circle the wagons.
We are a giving country, but the experiment in ending poverty around the world has failed. We have unleashed the greed of capitalism on an over populated world. We have not ended poverty we have unleashed greed and distruction.
Let's put our money into reforrestation, fish hatcheries, wells. Quit building damns and eliminating wet areas.The entire world does not need modernizing. Let's make it clear that if you want to do business with us, you will have to be better to you own people.
The sad part of it is that many, many of the American people do not trust the American government any more than these foreign enemies.
Senator Biden,
You are absolutely correct in every way on this issue. This is an urgent situation. I also agree with Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico that America should press Musharraf to restore the Constitution. I know you and Bill Richardson are, by far, the best qualified Presidential candidates to handle this situation.
The media seems to have promised the Democratic nomination election to Hillary Clinton if Obama cannot overtake her. They have repeatedly said that neither of you can win, and that has hindered the campaign. Traditionally, when a candidates numbers reach 10% the media networks will begin to announce their success in polls. However, this time when Bill Richardson's numbers were over 10% in Iowa NBC's Meet the Press and others chose to continue to not cover Richardson's numbers.
In disservice to America, the media has created a "celebrity tier" of candidates who are anointed by the media. America needs Joe Biden and Bill Richardson who are "resume candidates" to address these problems.
I hope you will join me in condemning this situation that the media has created. Until this situation is resolved we will be unable to adequately address issues like these.
When you speak of non-military "aid" are you speaking of IMF or World Bank deals? Do you earnestly believe the "moderates" you are worried about will agree to the strings attached to those organizational "loans"?
Can you give some evidence that the moderates will support continued military operations on the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan?
Can you discuss the history of Pakistan's involvement in installing the Taliban in the first place - and was that with our support or behind our backs?
Otherwise, what you have written is just empty rhetoric..
He is right but he will only be able to help from the Senate. He better get used to it.
Carry on, Senator!
You have my vote in the Primary with the great hope that
your name will be on the ballot next November.
Dear Senator Biden. Thank you for posting. You are so right . . . we do need a Pakistan policy and we need a new policy in the Middle East, especially towards Israel . . . unfortunately the chimp loves and supports dictators . . . unless the chimp and the big dick are impeached nothig will change.
I don't believe you'll have to trouble yourself with making that kind of decision any time soon.
neither party represents the people. follow the money.
cheney and bush have committed treason and what do we get from the demos. off the table.
when will americans wake up and realize the republic is dead. matters not who you put into office the country is heading down the road of imperialism then on to fascism. cant be stopped. done deal.
in their hearts most americans are imperialists. years of conditioning.
that super large military budget of ours is not for defense but offense.
"A nation that spends more year after year on military offense (and I mean offense) than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death". (Gunnels)
In these troubled and dire time we live in, Joe Biden, to me, encompasses all that we desperately need for our nation:
1) Intelligence
2) Experience in ALL phases of government
3) Strength
4) Respect from world leaders
5) Diplomacy
6) Command of issues
7) Solutions to problems that face our nation
8) Honesty
9) Integrity
10) Respect and trust from his peers
11) Respect and trust from the people who follow him
12) an EXPERT in foreign policy
Joe Biden certainly meets ALL of the criteria above.
I pray and hope every day that Mr. & Mrs. America, the people of Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina know in their hearts, that if we lose Joe Biden, we'll have lost one of the best Presidents our nation will ever have.
Please watch a video I produced to show my support for Senator Biden. If you support him, please send the link below to family and friends, and ask them to do the same.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=OtGCaqOdIJ4
Senator Biden,
I am so grateful for your long service to the nation. I have long been a fan of yours and I admire you greatly. That said - and I'm going to go off topic here in the hopes that maybe you read what we post - I wish with my whole heart and every ounce of love I hold for my country that the Democrats would impeach Bush and Cheney. I understand that everyone is running for president and I understand that there is fear of irritating the voters and I understand that it's a time consuming process and would distract Congress from other tasks. To be honest, you don't seem to be doing that well at the other tasks so a good distraction that would actually accomplish something good for the country might be just the ticket.
The main reason that this is so important to me is because I believe it's the right thing to do. These men have committed crimes against my country and against international law. They have opted out of the World Court, so they can't be tried there. It is up to us as a nation to take responsiblity and hold them accountable for what they have done in our name. Their crimes are not paper crimes. They are crimes that have led to hundreds of thousands of deaths (and it looks like they aren't satisfied to stop there). They are crimes against human decency in engaging in and attempting to justify torture. The list goes on and on. What does it say about us that we are unwilling to inconvenience ourselves to hold them accountable? Nothing good.
Thank you for listening.
Senator Biden,
Four years ago on New Year's Day 2004, I had written a letter to the Washington Post that never saw light of day. In it I had suggested that the top foreign policy problems that faced the Bush Administration in his reelection year could be captured in the acronym PAIN, which stood for Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and North Korea. More importantly, the countries were listed in order of what I believed to be our foreign policy priorities back then.
There are a number of observations that can be made today almost four years later:
1. Iran did not figure in the PAIN foreign policy agenda - I did not see it as a pressing problem at that time. Although Bush-Cheney-Condi have definitely let it bubble to the forefront now!
2. After four years of Bush governance, these four countries remain at the top of the foreign policy problems agenda - so how effective has President Bush been in the execution of his foreign policy in these past four years, if the PAIN persists?
3. Is it the policy of the Bush Administration to cajole and/or negotiate with dictators that already possess WMD (such as Pakistan's Musharraf and North Korea's Kim Jong Il) and threaten those that don't yet have WMD but might be seeking WMD (such as Iran's Ahmedinejad)? If yes, wouldn't that only encourage Iran to hasten its WMD acquisition process? In fact, isn't that what's happened in the past year or so?
4. In addition to the unresolved PAIN points that the Bush will leave behind for the next President, there are other foreign policy SLIPS (Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia) that have been more or less ignored!
5. Finally, there are the two 800 pound gorillas - Russia and China - which have gained significant strength and leverage over us during the Bush term.
So whoever takes over from President Bush is going to need a lot of skill, experience and perseverance. If it happens to be you, Senator Biden, I wish you good luck and godspeed!
Senator Biden, I sincerely hope if you don't win the nomination that whoever does (hopefully Obama) will ask you to be their Sec of State or Sec of Defence - you would do America GOOD by being either one.
VP would work also. I hope if Obama asks you - you would accept.
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Political Blog and Forum
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