http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/SP210289.htmISLAMABAD, Sept 11 (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf left for New York on Sunday with a mission to counter criticism of Pakistan's record on women's rights, to improve Muslim-Jewish relations and to boost a flagging peace process with India.
Like many other leaders congregating there for the U.N. General Assembly days after the fourth anniversary of al Qaeda's Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, Musharraf can also be expected to deliver a strong message on the war on terrorism.
The Pakistani leader, who has survived several al Qaeda-inspired assassination attempts since becoming one of Washington's principle allies in the Islamic world, has still to win over U.S. media, which often says his actions don't match his words.
When not questioning how known militant groups have survived repeated crackdowns,
Western media raise doubts about Musharraf's commitment to developing democracy, or focus on rape cases to depict violence against women in Pakistan.
From another article:
Furthermore, it is now about time to revise the term “dictator” to name a regime’s strongman, for reasons that having nothing to with opposing or accepting dictatorship, but for the way that Washington is using that term. First, when a strongman ends his alliance with Washington, this turns him immediately from a “man whom we can deal with,” “moderate,” or a “president” into a “dictator.” Second, the noun, “dictator” has become a weapon of propaganda and a motive for war against nations that oppose Washington’s polices.
A recent example of a strongman’s imperialist rehabilitation is Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf. When Musharraf overthrew the elected government of Pakistan and became, de facto, the “dictator” of Pakistan, the U.S. called him, in fact, “dictator” and “military ruler,” and Britain slammed Pakistan with sanctions. But when he allied himself with Washington and London after 9/11, he became, “His Excellency, President Musharraf.”
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