Bush's Deal With The Devil

Tom Watson has asked us bloggers to draw attention to the plight of Mukhtaran Bibi. I first heard about her shocking story on WBAI where the abuse of women around the world is frequently reported. Tom writes:

...Mr. President - your great ally, the wonderful President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is a weak, woman-hating, dreadful coward of a man, a friend of those who would rape to humiliate and scorn, and pillage for power and perversion.

The embracing of President Pervez Musharraf in order to fight the war on terror is just another example of why the Bush administration's rhetoric about spreading freedom and democracy throughout the world is just a sick joke. It also exposes, yet again, the cynical nature of George W. Bush's supposed deep religious faith. Bush has decided to make a deal with the devil in order to look tough on terrorism. This policy is much like the realpolitik of the Cold War which required brutal regimes to support US military, political and economic policies in exchange for favorable treatment. The pro-Western brutal regimes were coddled, while those states who were neutral or pro-Socialist, were vilified.

Back when the democratically elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by the Pakistani army in October 1999, the Clinton administration was understandably concerned. US State Department spokesman James Rubin stated: "If there has been a coup, we would obviously seek the quickest possible restoration of democracy in Pakistan." The US has zero credibility in the world regarding human rights, despite what Fox News would have you believe.

The big debate before the election about the Republican party was how it would deal with those who favor reason, and those who cite religion as the guiding force behind their politics. In the 2000 election, Bush claimed that Jesus Christ was his most influential political philosopher. But I suspect that he just forgot how to pronounce the name Machiavelli.

So what has God told George W. Bush to do about President Musharraf? Well, God did make a deal with Satan in the Book of Job, and perhaps that's the sort of story that allows Bush to justify his coddling of Musharraf. It is just another sorry chapter in the realpolitik of Bush's war on terror.

Comments

[Tom W.]

Great job, bro! Gotta spread the word on this one....

[Pauline McCartney]

Mr. Bush,

If you believe in rights for all human beings, why do you make deals with devils.

[julie]

You should be a speechwriter for whoever runs for president on the Democratic ticket next year.

[Ralph]

Thanks Julie, I appreciate the comment. I would love to write speeches for a Democratic presidential candidate, but I am afraid that I'd be compared with Howard Dean and heavily edited.

[Smash The State]

Ralph: You write that you suspect Bush "just forgot how to pronounce the name Machiavelli."
What credit you give silver-spoon - cos I doubt he even knows whatyoubetalkinbout.