Personality over Process Posted by Max Bergmann

Vali Nasr, a professor at Tufts, has a good piece in the Christian Science Monitor concerning the events in Pakistan. He comes to a worrisome conclusion...

The longer Musharraf stays in power the more Pakistan will look like Iran in 1979: an isolated and unpopular ruler hanging on to power only to inflame passions and bring together his Islamic and pro-democracy opposition into a dangerous alliance.

It is definitely not good that moderate lawyers and violent religious extremists are on the same side oppossing Musharraf. As Nasr points out, suspending the constitution is not about combating extremists or terrorism, or about restoring order. Instead it is about Musharraf trying to hold on to power - a classic authoritarian move.

This does not mean we should necessarily abandon Musharraf, but at the very least the events in Pakistan expose that it is very dangerous to have a foreign policy that values personality over process. The President trusted Musharraf because he looked him in the eye, just as he has trusted Putin because he magically looked into his soul, and ever since the focus of American foreign policy toward these countries has largely been about maintaining or supporting these personal relationships, at the expense of emphasizing democratic processes. And as a result both are less democratic and have each moved in a direction contrary to US interests, with Russia more authoritarian and assertive and Pakistan more unstable.

Comments

[Mike M.]

How on Earth does it not mean that we should necessarily abandon Musharraf? He's a dictator. We never should have supported him in the first place.

[Don Bacon]

Of course Bush, being a bit wanting in the grey matter department, has to base his feelings on eye- and soul-looks. What choice does he have? Does anyone expect him to have deep insights because he thought about anything? The man's been an abject failure at everything he's ever done--let's not expect more of him than he's capable of delivering.

The US probably won't abandon Musharraf. He may be an SOB, but he's our SOB. Who else is there, the corrupt Bhutto? If we do abandon Mush, would China move in? Pakistan borders China, and they have been close before. I'm sure that Mush has already thought about this and planned for it.