Perspective Pertaining to Pakistan

Recently, The New York Times broke a story about the meeting between Mitch McConnell, director of national intelligence, General Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, and President Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani officials. The two American intelligence officials flew out secretly to discuss ways to cooperate in the War on Terror. Apparently, both parties were satisfied in the results of the meeting.

Events like this should serve as a signal to people that even though the United States is uncomfortable with the political developments that have unfolded in Pakistan recently, it is still a country that the United States needs as an ally in fighting terrorism. Pakistan does have a very capable military, and it is also in a position that is very strategic in terms of keeping tabs on terrorist organizations. For one thing, there is a lot of evidence that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are hiding out within Pakistan's borders. Also, Pakistan is a strategic country from which to bring troops and military equipment into Afghanistan. Without Pakistan's cooperation, it would be very difficult to maintain a military presence in Afghanistan. Pakistan's intelligence services are also equipped to function as a solid partner in gathering intelligence on terrorist activity. Pakistan may not run itself the way the United States would like it to, but the benefits of having Pakistan as an ally are too great to give up the alliance that currently exists.

Now, briefly, about the political developments in Pakistan that have made so many officials shift uncomfortably in their seats. Pakistan is trying very hard to become a functioning democracy. The concepts of competitive elections and political opposition cannot be fully understood by a country unless it lives through them. When President Musharraf felt his country getting out of hand because of the amount of public opposition that existed, he declared a state of emergency to try and stabilize the country. This is not how developed democracies would generally operate, so it brought a lot of criticism. However, even with the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, the country appears pretty stable, so who's to say that President Musharraf didn't achieve his goals?

The real test of where Pakistan stands will come when it holds its next election. If it is rife with corruption, then the sceptics will be proven right. However, if it is free and fair, then the sceptics will have to quiet down. Either way, the United States won't take any definitive action against Pakistan because fighting terrorism is higher up on the list of priorities than punishing governments we believe are abusing their power.