Pakistan suspended from Commonwealth
Dana Perino recently hinted that the US was impotent to do anything to encourage Pakistan to give up it's emergency rule and claimed that "there's not much else that can be done" other than asking Musharraf nicely if he wouldn't mind restoring democracy.
Thankfully, the Commonwealth has taken a more robust stance than it's US counterparts and has suspended Pakistan for the second time in eight years. Pakistan's suspension will remain in force until emergency rule is lifted.
The Commonwealth are at least taking action where Bush has, indeed, looked ineffectual and weak; asking that Musharraf restore democracy whilst offering no punishment should he fail to do so. Indeed, the notion that "there's not much else that can be done" by the US to pressure Pakistan to restore democracy ignores the enormous financial aid that the US sends to Pakistan to fight the war on terror.Gordon Brown welcomed the decision late last night in Kampala, Uganda saying the move was necessary and justified. He said Britain would work with the Commonwealth to see that the terms on which Pakistan could be readmitted were met.
The decision came after four hours of talks in Kampala at foreign minister level, with Britain and Canada leading the call for suspension with terms for readmittance. Some of Pakistan's fellow Asian countries, such as Malaysia, opposed. Smaller countries, including African ones, backed outright suspension.
Mr Brown added: "President Musharraf has said that he will take steps necessary to restore democracy. The Commonwealth is strongly of the view that he must do so. We will work with Pakistan and the Commonwealth to ensure Pakistan returns to its rightful position in the Commonwealth once the remaining steps are taken."
David Miliband, the foreign secretary, said the international community had to pressure Pakistan into holding free and fair elections. A British minister added: "We would have looked limp-wristed in the eyes of the world if we had not acted. Musharraf says he is making changes, but it is very clear that this is not a run up to free and fair elections."
The difference between the US and the Commonwealth is that the Commonwealth is interested in restoring democracy and Bush is interested in keeping Musharraf in power. Bush's entire policy towards Pakistan is based on Musharraf, which is why we are now witnessing the US pussy footing around this military dictator as he places Supreme Court judges under house arrest so that his hand picked judges can declare his recent "election" legal.
American claims of impotence regarding Musharraf have a hollow ring, especially as Musharraf's stated reason for imposing emergency rule is so that he can tackle "extremism", when it is clear to everyone that the people he is arresting are the moderates and his political rivals, so the whole exercise is designed to keep himself in power rather than tackle "extremism".
But then, Musharraf's whole game with the US has been based on this false premise. He has always portrayed the US's choice as between him or the extremists running Pakistan, and the US has - to date - always chosen Musharraf.
Pakistan have reacted to the suspension with anger:
Pakistan's foreign ministry has said the suspension was "unreasonable and unjustified".
The ministry said that the Commonwealth had failed to appreciate Pakistan's "serious internal crisis".
Pakistan's ambassador to Washington Mahmud Ali Durrani told the BBC the government regretted the decision.
He said the authorities were committed to lifting the state of emergency as soon as possible, but that would be done according to Pakistan's timetable, not under threat from outside powers.
The trouble is that the Pakistani authorities will lift the suspension just as soon as Musharraf has been declared legally elected. At the moment Musharraf is talking about holding fresh elections whilst his rivals remain in jail, which is a simply ludicrous proposition.
Britain's Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, has stated that the "decision was taken in sorrow, not in anger", and that the Commonwealth hopes to readmit Pakistan as soon as possible.
But at least the Commonwealth have taken a stance, unlike the Americans, who are feigning impotence whilst Musharraf makes a mockery of the democratic ideal. The very same democratic ideal that Bush claims to be exporting to Iraq. However, in the case of Pakistan, Bush is faced with a choice between the democratic ideal and Musharraf remaining in power. And he appears to be favouring the latter. The Commonwealth, thankfully, are insisting on the former.
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