NRO: After Bhutto

NRO has just posted a forum titled “After Bhutto” with some good analysis. Jonathan Foreman writes that Musharraf is likely to be “badly damaged at least in the short term,” and that “this could easily grow into widespread civil unrest, especially in the wake of her funeral tomorrow.” He holds out some hope that the assassination will have the effect of forcing the country’s political and military elite to take the threat from Islamic extremism more seriously–though one would think that the nine attempts on Musharraf’s life, the complete loss of control in the tribal areas, and the frequent attacks on Pakistani military installations would have already done as much. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross says this will give a boost to Nawaz Sharif, as he is, by default, now Pakistan’s top opposition figure. And Victor Davis Hanson writes:

Our relations were always based on the flawed idea its Islamic and autocratic essence made it a good bulwark against communist Russia and socialist India. But the world has changed, and we should too. It is long past time to smile and curtail aid – and quit arming it with weapons that are more likely to be used against our friend India as bin Laden.

More there from Roggio, Henry Sokolski, Stanley Kurtz, and others.

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