George Bush's protestations about martial law were accompanied by a wink and a nod to Musharraf. And millions of dollars in untraceable cash transfers.
Bush apparently viewed Pakistan's Supreme Court's ""Chief Justice as a nuisance and ‘a Taliban sympathizer.’"
Meanwhile in Pakistan, the Taliban and Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda is strengthening it's grip, while Musharraf's troops are surrounding Benazir Bhutto's house and arresting lawyers
George Bush's and Condoleeza Rice's protestations about martial law in Pakistan have been pure political theater for American consumption. Bush continues to send millions in cold hard untraceable cash to support the dictatorship in Pakistan.
After Pervez Musharraf declared martial law this weekend, Condoleezza Rice vowed to review U.S. assistance to Pakistan, one of the largest foreign recipients of American aid. Musharraf, of course, has been a crucial American ally since the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001, and the U.S. has rewarded him ever since with over $10 billion in civilian and (mostly) military largesse. But, perhaps unsure whether Musharraf's days might in fact be numbered, Rice contended that the explosion of money to Islamabad over the past seven years was "not to Musharraf, but to a Pakistan you could argue was making significant strides on a number of fronts."
In fact, however, a considerable amount of the money the U.S. gives to Pakistan is administered not through U.S. agencies or joint U.S.-Pakistani programs. Instead, the U.S. gives Musharraf's government about $200 million annually and his military $100 million monthly in the form of direct cash transfers. Once that money leaves the U.S. Treasury, Musharraf can do with it whatever he wants. He needs only promise in a secret annual meeting that he'll use it to invest in the Pakistani people. And whatever happens as the result of Rice's review, few Pakistan watchers expect the cash transfers to end.
According to a leading Pakistani journalist, the administration secretly supported Musharraf's suspension of the rule of law and arrest of the Chief Justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court.
The two institutions targeted by the Emergency are the judiciary and the lively network of independent TV stations, many of whose correspondents supply information that can never be gleaned from politicians. Geo TV the largest of these continued to broadcast outside the country. Hamid Mir, one of its sharpest journalists, reported yesterday afternoon that according to his sources the US Embassy had green lighted the coup because they regarded the Chief Justice as a nuisance and 'a Taliban sympathiser'.
For a whole year now, the regime was confronted with a severe crisis of legitimacy that came to a head earlier this year when General Musharraf's decision to suspend the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Hussein Chaudhry, provoked a six-month long mass movement that forced a government retreat. Some of Chaudhry's judgements had challenged the government on key issues such as 'disappeared prisoners', harassment of women and rushed privatisations. It was feared that he might declare a uniformed President illegal.
In the midst of this chaos, the Taliban is gaining strength (credit for this material to Scott Horton of Harper's and all the journalists who have gathered this information.)
The imposition of emergency in Pakistan has not put any pressure on Taliban in Swat district. Taliban have taken over police stations in Matta, Khawazkhela and Charbagh. This scribe visited the Matta police station after the imposition of emergency in Pakistan. Taliban there have replaced the Pakistan’s flag with their own at the police station after more than 120 soldiers surrendered two days ago. Taliban commanders controlling Matta police station were not worried about the emergency.
Immediately after President Musharraf’s speech, the Pakistan Army swapped 25 Taliban fighters for 211 kidnapped soldiers in South Waziristan. There was a feeling of achievement among local militants over the banning of private TV channels all over the country as they think Musharraf had accepted their point of view in this matter.
Taliban leader Maulvi Fazlullah is moving around half of the Swat area like a ruler with full protocol. He has appointed his own ‘governors’ in Kabal, Matta and Khawazkhela. He has also ordered setting up of Islamic courts for providing justice in areas under his control.
Bush's and Rice's Pakistan policy is in a shambles. The Taliban and Al Qaeda are facing ineffective opposition from Musharraf and gaining control. Musharraf is arresting lawyers and judges while freeing Taliban supporters. And Bush is funneling millions of you taxpayer dollars in cold hard cash to pay for it.