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Just a couple of quick Pakistan observations

Im still under full 'Lucy and Ethel' mode here at the lab, but I just had a few questions about the Pakistan situation.

1. Wasnt it the considered view of so many in the puditocracy that what Iraq really needed in this time of strife was a 'strongman" that could restore order? Well now you got a stongman in an area of deep strife, so stop whining.

2. Dictatorships generally end very badly for both the dictator and the nation being dictated. Julius Caesar first set the pattern of being done in by his pals, and more recently we have the example of provided by Huey Long. The phrase "he meant well" doesnt seem to provide as much protection for the dictator as a good kevlar vest.

3. We should all understand that the Pakistani Army sentry who is standing watch in front of Musharrafs office is standing there without much else to do on his watch but be 'at brace' and silently ponder his destiny against his potential for earning a place in history. A man, a grudge, a pistol and an opportunity; the world has been made on such volatile combinations.

4. It strikes me as odd that he Islamic world has dictatorships that sit at each end of the world, almost as its 'bookends' with Mubarak in Egypt, Musharraf in Pakistan. In between those bookends stand most of the variations of human suffrage from tribalist, monarchial to religious state. Yet, there seems to be room on their bookshelf for everthing but a tolerance of democracy and modernity.

5. Pakistan can be seen as the most modern of the Islamic countries, by comparison to almost any other Islamic nation, it is an industrial powerhouse, yet in every measureable metric it is being swept away by its brother country, India. Yet India and Pakistan were at peer level until India embraced free market capitalism in the 1980's. India is now on its way to be a peer with China, yet Pakistan is now on its way to be a peer with - Iran. China too moved away from central planning to a market economy at the same time as India. Do property rights naturally lead to human rights and as such to human liberty? One proof would be that the opposite is also true, which seems to be at least one vector of what is going on in Pakistan.

And remember what I said, Pakistan stands head and shoulders above all the other Islamic countries. The road from Tribalism to Monarchy to liberal democracy took 1000 years in Europe, should we expect it to be any faster in the middle east?

Posted @ November 06, 2007 07:39 AM | Current Affairs

Posted by: Blogengeezer at November 6, 2007 08:03 PM

Posted by: Vittle at November 6, 2007 11:52 PM