If I may jump in here, into this most interesting of topics. I don't believe any sane individual would have had Musharraf make any decision post 9/11, other than to support America. In fact, 9/11 provided us with the golden opportunity to escape from the claws of extremism with the backing of the foremost super power. Where it all fell apart was in the kind of concessions Musharraf made that, for all intents and purposes, sold the nation's foreign and domestic policy to the highest bidder. The problem with foreign policy on the Afghani border is that no one knows when these foreign issues suddenly become domestic ones.
Musharraf made the right call by going along with the Americans. He made the wrong call in allowing them to do as they please at every turn. He made the wrong call in not procuring enough military hardware and economic aid to offset the affects of a long drawn out war. He made the wrong call in simultaneously helping the extremists in order to preserve Pakistan's position in a post-US Afghani hierarchy. He made the wrong call in not putting all resources to use on the western border and annihilating the extremist in one swift motion. He did wrong in sending the domestic public misleading messages in regards to Pakistan's role in WOT. A message of a reluctant follower as opposed to a nation fighting for the survival of all that it holds dear. He did wrong, in essence, in leaving behind a tattered Pakistan to whomever would be the next leader.
By the standards of Pakistani politics, Musharraf was not a terrible leader. But if that is going to be the barometer of success, then Pakistan is doomed. Musharraf's greatest perceived accomplishment; one of economic growth, was a byproduct of American aid and a wider global boom. If he were to come back into power, short term economic growth would almost inevitably follow. Partly because the nation can hardly stagnate further and partly because the Western world has far greater confidence in a political player who did everything but sell off parcels of Pakistani land, in order to appease them. By conveniently letting Zardari's government take the fall for playing both sides in WOT, a policy he oversaw from inception, Musharraf comes across as the ideal candidate for the West.
I wonder then, would a short term economic recovery be worth sacrificing even more power to the Americans and the like? The question interests me because Musharraf's supporters see him as our chance to escape the complete dominance the Americans have over us. The problem is: he put us in this situation in the first place; can he really be relied on to get us out of it?
