In the midst of our holiday celebrations comes the tragic news from Pakistan that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated. It is sobering to think that such a brave woman, who loved her country and her people and returned from exile to fight for them, would be killed for precisely those reasons.
Can there ever be peace and security in any nation that settles its differences with guns and bombs instead of ballots? The U.S. is naive to think it can single-handedly impose democracy on another nation, or with any kind of pressure somehow produce it. No amount of dancing with Musharraf will achieve our objectives in Pakistan, nor should it. The Pakistanis themselves must decide what they want and how to implement it.
No matter how you cut it, this was a real tragedy. You are absolutely right – the Pakistani people must have the power to choose their own leaders (I think they call it “democracy”) we shouldn’t force our will on them – in the long run, that doesn’t promote stability.