Musharraf out in Pakistan

President of Pakistan pulls a Nixon and resigns before he can be impeached. I'm not sure whether this is a good or bad thing.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PAKISTAN?SITE=WHIZ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

Probably a good thing for Pakistan. From the sound of it, even his core constituency (the army) was tired of him:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/18/pakistan

 

Good for Pakistan. Likely bad for us, right?

 

It probably depends on who gets the nod, but given the current climate, whoever gets the gig will go to great pains not to look like an "American stooge." If it's not Nawaz Sharif, head of the Pakistan Muslim League and former PM, he'll at least have a lot to say in who takes the job.

 

Given that Musharraf's people have been doing jackshit about the al Qaeda presence in their country, this ought to be an upgrade opportunity.

 

It's a good thing if, like so much of Pakistan, apparently, you think appeasement of al-Qaida is sound strategy. Despite all of his issues, Musharraf wasn't afraid to take unpopular positions.

 

I say Osama bin Laden. He's the most politically-proof person in the country. After all, he's made Slick Willie look like sandpaper the past seven years.

 

He publicly sided with the US but his core supporters were so shot through with Al Qaida sympathy that nothing ever got accomplished in that area. And the new government seems to be more willing to take care of business.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/51415.html

This is a major point-of-view change for the Pakistani government and I suspect the CIA is happy to have some more cooperation.

 

we'll see if they actually go after these guys. talk is cheap.

 

It is, but I'm beginning to think that Musharraf's ouster will be a good thing for us.

 

Absolutely agree 2MCM. If this talk gets backed up, it will change the situation greatly.