The US had chosen who to back in Pakistan, and that was Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. Not surprisingly, it’s blown up in our faces. We have no idea where things will lead, but the world is an ever more dangerous place tonight. With an unstable Afghanistan on one border, Iran on another, longtime rivals India on another and China on the fourth, the instability that this adds could lead to a regional war involving the world’s two most populace countries (and Pakistan is no slouch at over 164 million people.
And so comes the voice of Dennis Kucinich:
MANCHESTER, NH – Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich issued the following statement this morning after hearing the news of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto:
“This is a very dangerous moment for the world. Prime Minister Bhutto represented the forces of reform and the hope for an end to repression in a troubled region, and her death is a major loss to those efforts.”
“This terrible tragedy also underscores the need for the United States to adopt a new foreign policy toward the entire region because our current policy is all wrong. Our interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan has opened wide the doors of repression and violence. At this very moment, we should be working with leaders of the region to convene a meeting at the highest levels to begin a new effort towards stabilization and peace.”
“The United States must take a new direction in Pakistan and throughout the region. I met her several times, both in Washington and New York. She was deeply and genuinely dedicated to Pakistan. This is a tragic loss.”
The question, I suppose, is would the leaders in the volatile region be willing to meet, and if so would they be willing to work toward finding an agreement that meets the needs of all of their people, reguardless of how it relates to the US’s involvement in the region. My guess is that it will be best for the US to stand aside.
