Boy Blunder Strikes Again
Just when you thought he'd done all the damage that one human being can possibly do...
"I explained that Pakistan and India are different countries with different needs and different histories," [Bush] said at a joint outdoor news conference with Musharraf on the grounds of the presidential palace . . . "So as we proceed forward, our strategy will take in effect those well-known differences."What a boob. Wait and watch the fall-out unfold next week. Musharraf is going to get hell for those remarks.
Before Mr. Bush's remarks, administration officials said General Musharraf had no chance of making such a deal when proliferation and terrorism remained concerns in Pakistan. But it was striking that the president spoke so directly as his host stood at his side.
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[Referring to the meeting] the Pakistani foreign minister [Kasuri said] "They had a level of discussion I had not seen before."
[Kasuri] struggled to answer local journalists who asked if Pakistan had not been left empty-handed after the visit.
[Kasuri] said General Musharraf had pressed the case for civil nuclear cooperation, since Pakistan had urgent energy needs, too. "These things take a long time," he said. Mr. Bush had hinted at something, he said, but he declined to explain further.
* * *
[T]he public remarks on both sides could not disguise evident tensions, particularly after the nuclear deal that Mr. Bush announced this week with India.
[Bush] was not expected to endorse a similar nuclear agreement with Pakistan . . . But neither was it expected that [Bush] would so obviously place Pakistan on a separate footing from India, as Washington has long taken pains to balance American relations between the rivals. [leave it to Bush to muck it all up with ONE sentence - boy genius!]
* * *
[Bush and Musharraf] made their public remarks on [a] serene lawn . . . with ducks splashing in a flower-filled pool in the background, as the capital around them remained in an effective 24-hour lockdown. [pretty surreal, eh?]
* * *
[When asked, one resident of Islamabad] said the visit was good if it gave Mr. Bush a better understanding of the views of Pakistanis. "He gave a lot to India, despite knowing that we do not get on well," he said. "So he should support us equally."
posted by qrswave @ Sunday, March 05, 2006
3 Comments:
It's hogwash. Bush has only agreed to India's plan for now. It has to be ratified by the US Congress which it, which of course will not do so. Bush has done this to obtain the Indian vote in the Security council against Iran. Once his work is done the India deal will be dropped. Mark my words.
Anon, that's a good point. Except that hardly alleviates the problems the agreement has caused with Pakistan, at least at the moment.
Both the Indian and Pakistani rulers operate with cunning and corruption as far as their masses are concerned. But the Indian rulers operate more from a position of cunning and the Pakistani rulers operate from a position of dependence (and desire to immitate the secular west) when is comes to dealing with the US. Sadly for Pakistan, history will repeat and yes, they will be left with a raw deal. Why should it be any different now?
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