Benazir Bhutto and What's to Come

Benazir Bhutto was a courageous and articulate woman who was deeply dedicated to her nation and to democracy. I met her several times in the 1990s. Each time she talked with great passion and eloquence about returning to Pakistan, regardless of the risks entailed, to help that nation build a firm democracy.

Today, Pakistan is a tinder box containing a nuclear bomb. If it should drift into civil war, the world will be greatly endangered. Afghanistan and Iran border Pakistan on the West; India (with its own nuclear bomb) on the East.

Republicans will try to use any ensuing instability and violence to make their case for a “strong” foreign policy backed by military force, reminding voters that the world is a dangerous place and that Republican militarism is therefore necessary. And they will once again try to brand Democrats as “soft” on terrorism. But they do so at their peril. It is the Bush administration, after all, that has placed a huge and risky bet on President Pervez Musharraf – staking him billions of dollars we now know was used to build up the Pakistani military, presumably against India, rather than to fight terrorists on its northwest frontier. The Bushies also allowed India to expand its nuclear arsenal, raising the stakes further. When Musharraf’s hold on power grew precarious, the Bushies facilitated Bhotto’s return to Pakistan. When Musharraf banned political rallies – both to preserve his own power but also to avoid widespread violence – it was the Bush administration that urged him to allow them and allow Bhutto to speak at them. In short, at every step along the way the Bush administration has gambled wildly, with no backup in case its gambles fail. If Republicans want to celebrate and politicize this sort of mindless foreign policy – analogous to the mindlessness we’ve seen in Iraq – they will pay politically.

In the meantime, let us pray that Pakistan does not disintegrate into violence and civil war.