After Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule over the country November 3, we ran a Q&A with politics professor John Echeverri-Gent, who discussed, among other things, the response of the U.S. to the situation. "If we were to take a stand condemning Musharraf’s action, at least that would separate us from supporting an increasingly unpopular dictator," said Echeverri-Gent. "Unless we do that, we may come out on the wrong side of history here. Musharraf’s rule is becoming increasingly tenuous, and it depends almost exclusively on the military."
 John Echeverri-Gent |
Now that Musharraf’s most prominent opponent, Benazir Bhutto, has been assassinated, Echeverri-Gent thinks that sends the U.S. back to the strategic drawing board. "The Bush administration had pursued the strategy of encouraging an entente between General Musharaff, who in the eyes of the Bush administration represented stability and the possibility of fighting Islamic terrorism in Pakistan, and Benazir Bhutto, who in the Bush administration’s eyes represented a more democratic current," said Echevarri-Gent in a press release. "The hope was that an alliance would move Pakistan in the direction of a more liberal, democratic and yet secure society. That strategy goes up in smoke at this point."
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