fatman17
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Pakistan and Afghanistan, Through Rose-Colored Glasses
By The Editorial Board
Have you heard the great news about how things are going in Pakistan and Afghanistan?
We hadnt either, until a member of the board attended a two-day briefing by top State Department officials for editorial writers from across the nation.
The point, of course, was to present the Bush administrations actions in as positive a light as possible. But for two of worlds the most troubled areas, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the effort bordered on the impossible.
In Pakistan, President Bush and his policies have been suffering one serious setback after another lately. First, President Pervez Musharraf, on whom the administration had placed almost all of its bets, lost much of his backing from the public and was pressured to step down from his powerful post as army general.
In an effort to restore some of his standing, the Bush administration helped forge a power-sharing deal between Mr. Musharraf and exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. She returned to the country to run for office, was greeted by frenzied crowds, and then was assassinated.
More setbacks followed. Mr. Musharrafs party suffered devastating losses in parliamentary elections. A coalition government led by Ms. Bhuttos widower, Asif Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif, another exiled prime minister, was formed. On a three-day visit to Islamabad late last month, Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte was in effect told to stop meddling in Pakistans affairs.
Mr. Negroponte was, nevertheless, undaunted in his talk to editorial writers. Although he acknowledged that the threat from extremist groups had increased, he hailed the election in Pakistan as a victory for democracy.
Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, went further, saying the administration had worked for six years to have a democratic transition in Pakistan and that this would provide a better basis for Pakistans future.
Neither man mentioned the electon losses for Mr. Musharraf, whom Mr. Negroponte once described as an indispensable ally of the U.S.
Mr. Boucher also tried to put a good light on developments in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been raising havoc in the countryside. He said President Hamid Karzai has opened the country to the outside world.
James Kunder, the acting deputy administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Afghaistan has achieved an economy that allows for the building and maintenance of roads. He praised the government for achieving a stable currency.
The State Department briefers praised, justifiably, American efforts to combat AIDS in Africa perhaps the administrations signal foreign policy achievement. They did the expected spin on how things are going in Iraq.
On Pakistan and Afghanistan, however, they went beyond spin, and seemed to have left the reality-based community behind
By The Editorial Board
Have you heard the great news about how things are going in Pakistan and Afghanistan?
We hadnt either, until a member of the board attended a two-day briefing by top State Department officials for editorial writers from across the nation.
The point, of course, was to present the Bush administrations actions in as positive a light as possible. But for two of worlds the most troubled areas, Pakistan and Afghanistan, the effort bordered on the impossible.
In Pakistan, President Bush and his policies have been suffering one serious setback after another lately. First, President Pervez Musharraf, on whom the administration had placed almost all of its bets, lost much of his backing from the public and was pressured to step down from his powerful post as army general.
In an effort to restore some of his standing, the Bush administration helped forge a power-sharing deal between Mr. Musharraf and exiled former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. She returned to the country to run for office, was greeted by frenzied crowds, and then was assassinated.
More setbacks followed. Mr. Musharrafs party suffered devastating losses in parliamentary elections. A coalition government led by Ms. Bhuttos widower, Asif Zardari, and Nawaz Sharif, another exiled prime minister, was formed. On a three-day visit to Islamabad late last month, Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte was in effect told to stop meddling in Pakistans affairs.
Mr. Negroponte was, nevertheless, undaunted in his talk to editorial writers. Although he acknowledged that the threat from extremist groups had increased, he hailed the election in Pakistan as a victory for democracy.
Richard Boucher, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, went further, saying the administration had worked for six years to have a democratic transition in Pakistan and that this would provide a better basis for Pakistans future.
Neither man mentioned the electon losses for Mr. Musharraf, whom Mr. Negroponte once described as an indispensable ally of the U.S.
Mr. Boucher also tried to put a good light on developments in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has been raising havoc in the countryside. He said President Hamid Karzai has opened the country to the outside world.
James Kunder, the acting deputy administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, said Afghaistan has achieved an economy that allows for the building and maintenance of roads. He praised the government for achieving a stable currency.
The State Department briefers praised, justifiably, American efforts to combat AIDS in Africa perhaps the administrations signal foreign policy achievement. They did the expected spin on how things are going in Iraq.
On Pakistan and Afghanistan, however, they went beyond spin, and seemed to have left the reality-based community behind
