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Musharraf has been increasingly oppressive over the past several years, runs a totally corrupt military dictatorship, and has a country, Pakistan, that used to be listed as an official State sponsor of terrorism, until the oracle that is Bush/Cheney, Inc., told us that Pakistan is really our wonderful friend. Remember that during all the years of the India-Pakistan conflict and threat of war, we have always tried to stay neutral with public statements but preferred India, as the lesser of two evils. Pakistan was always considered a terrorist State as bad as Syria, etc., which was why I was so horrified that Bush made an alliance with--of all possible choices of countries--Pakistan, in the nebulous, morphing, "war on terra"-something/whatever. This is like being business partners with Saudi Arabia, or some crazy thing--kind of defeats the whole purpose.
I live in Michigan, and so watch a lot of CBC (Canadian) TV, which has real news, etc., (so I can feel like I am living in the real world), and they have done a great job following the situation with Pakistan. Musarraf has been severely oppressing women for years--there have been Nationalk scandals on the corrupt Pakistani police, guard, and military, raping and even murdering women, and Musharraf having the charges killed, on "honor killings" (Middle Eastern/Islamic male practice of horrificaly violent attacks on women family members, on made-up "charges" that they cannot defend), etc. There is at least one famous woman feminist lawyer who fights for victims of these attacks, who has described the complete corruption of the Musharraf legal system, and how the male attackers always go free. CBC recently had a "National Geographic Explorer" program on this bleak situation, with a woman who had had her eyes gouged out, jaw broken, etc., who needed extensive surgery in the U.S., then sent back, and how the women are always treated as at fault. Musharraf recently made some joking, dismissive remarks during a speaking visit to the U.S., about women, these rape and murder cases, the lack of prosecutions, etc. Now, recently, there is a judge who has been removed by Musharraf for being independent (who does that remind you of?), with huge protests against it, by thousands of people in Pakistan.
Of course, with all of the pro-Bush/"Pakistan is 'our' dear friend"/Islamic threat/lack of critical coverage by the corporations--or, the "media"--the fact that Pakistan has always been an anti-American horror, a Hell for women and girls as bad as the Taliban that Bush and Cheney have now allowed back into Afghanistan, and a completely corrupt dictatorship, I don't know what it is that people think is worth saving there, and also this shows yet again, that what people think is "the U.S." will align itself with the most horrible oppressor, no morals or democracy at all, just to advance its own commercial ends--and this is how we will be known, that "we" propped this bastard Musharraf up, at all.
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