I see what you're getting at. All I'm arguing is that timing is everything.
Fair enough. When do we begin to take action? Paying Musharraf $80
million a month to be himself isn't exactly pressuring him to do the
right thing.
At this point, Pak already has nukes, making tough talk impractical,
so our influence is all we have. Musharif at least gives lip service
to being our ally, so with the aid we give him, we at least have some
influence. He says he's going to go ahead with elections this spring,
(no, I'm not calling them 'free and fair') so we'll see.
And so in the end, what value is his lip service to us? We support
his dictatorship and what do we get in return aside from lip service?
With the aid we give him, he oppresses his own people. We are paying
for the bullets his 'security forces' fire into crowds of unarmed
civilians. Where exactly is our influence being felt?
--buck
