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Hornberger’s Blog Index

Bush’s Support of Dictators
by Jacob G. Hornberger

According to the Washington Post, “President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general ‘hasn't crossed the line’ and ‘truly is somebody who believes in democracy.’

If that doesn’t encapsulate U.S. foreign policy, I don’t know what does.

Here is a brutal unelected dictator — and a military one at that — who originally took power in a coup and who has now declared martial law to maintain his brutal dictatorial grip on power. Yet Bush feels that Musharraf hasn’t yet “crossed the line” and that Musharraf “truly is somebody who believes in democracy.”

Throughout the Iraq War, when Bush was claiming that the purpose of his invasion was to spread democracy, we continually pointed out that this was not possible given the partnership that Bush had established and was maintaining with Musharraf, a brutal unelected military dictator. Don’t forget that as part of that partnership, Bush was funneling millions of dollars in U.S. taxpayer money into the coffers of Musharraf and his military goons.

Hasn’t crossed the line? This military dictator has declared martial law, which has entailed the arrest and incarceration of lawyers, judges, human-rights advocates, political opponents, and protestors. It has also entailed the dissolution of Pakistan’s Supreme Court. And Musharraf’s minions in the military and police have loyally obeyed his orders.

If that’s not “crossing the line,” President Bush, what is?

Perhaps President Bush has looked into the soul of Musharraf and seen a benevolent dictator, who has promised to have elections in January. Never mind that under his martial law, anyone who criticizes Musharraf while campaigning is violating the law, a law that is being brutally enforced by his military and police goons. And never mind that those who threaten to run against Musharraf are subject to immediate arrest, torture, incarceration, and exile.

Herein lies the perfect example of U.S. foreign policy. It never was about spreading democracy and never will be. It’s about installing U.S.-approved rulers in countries all over the world, and it doesn’t matter one iota whether they are democratically elected or not. Thus, the U.S. partnerships with the Shah of Iran, Saddam Hussein, Pervez Musharraf, and many, many others, including the many Latin American military dictators whose goons have been trained at the infamous School of the Americas.

With the federal government taking our country down to road to ever-increasing damage, including the out-of-control federal spending that has caused the dollar debacle, what better time for the American people to reevaluate their government’s pro-empire, pro-intervention foreign policy? What better time to embrace our nation’s founding principles of republic, non-intervention, and sound money?

Jacob Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. Send him email.

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