If the man were anymore wishy washy, he'd drip when he spoke.
I don't find him wishy washy. I find he does quite a brilliant job, stepping among all the mine fields in front of him. But of course, he contradicts himself, because he has to say contradictory things to various constituencies. Maybe that's what makes you think he's wishy washy.
I do think he came in with good intentions.
He is also governing a country with all kinds of centrifugal forces, many violent elements who claim divine imprimatur for their murders, and a rather shallow democratic tradition.
The other factor to this is all corruption charges were dropped against Benazir Bhutto, but what about her husband? The two cases were linked. Why drop charges against the bigger threat and leave the lesser threat still exiled for the same charges?
I'll tell you why, so you can have a clean, unobstructed shot at your target.
Musharraf may not be a smart leader, but he is not stupid. Problem is he wears his policies and corruptions like his military medals, for all to see.
I think the case(s) against her husband were far stronger, for one thing. And the charges against her were not dropped because justice officials had decided they had no merit; they were dropped so that she could re-enter the country and run for prime minister. Her husband had no such intention.
But you're assuming, it seems, that Musharraf was behind the assassination. How can you say that? What do you base it on?
You may turn out to be right, but there are many elements that would like to have seen Bhutto dead, a fact that she mentioned in all her recent interviews, and that was secret to no one.
The world should not kid itself. Madame Bhutto was lead back to Pakistan like a lamb to the slaughter. She went to show her strength and resolve to the people who have always supported her even though she knew it would mean her certain death. Is she a martyr? Perhaps, but right now I see her as just another sad statistic in a war on terror that isn't working and a notch in the belt of yet another tiny minded despot trying to retain power over that which he most assuredly cannot control. I give it a few days and I am very sure her assassination will round about be attributed to the Taliban extremists hiding out in Pakistan.
We can only hope fate sees clear to "reward" Musharraf swiftly.
Again, you're implicitly claiming something like omniscience.
None of us knows what happened.
And I, personally, find Taliban involvement more plausible than Musharraf's.
Just my view, of course.
And to hope that Musharraf is killed or executed ("We can only hope fate sees clear to 'reward' Musharraf swiftly," as you say) is only to feed the cycle that perpetuates these terrible and violent human drives.
