December 28th, 2007 by Celest

Today, many people are reacting to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and trying to figure out what should happen now. Many authors argue that pushing harder for democracy is the best action for the US. An editorial in the Washington Times argues that to avoid chaos and disaster in Pakistan, the US and other states “must seek policies that quell turmoil and push democracy and stability — even if those policies lead to a less-than-ideal scenario.” An editorial in the New York Times argues that “American policy must be directed at building a strong democracy in Pakistan…. The days of Washington mortgaging its interests there to one or two individuals must finally come to an end.”

An editorial in the Wall Street Journal says that Bhutto’s strategy–“a real fight against terrorism that would give jihadists no rest; and a real democracy that would give them no fake grievance–looks to be the only formula by which Pakistan may yet be saved.” An article by Husain Haqqani, also in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only) continues to make this point. “In her death, as in her life, Benazir Bhutto has drawn attention to the need for building a moderate Muslim democracy in Pakistan.”

Some, such as Medea Benjamin at the Huffington Post and Mansoor Ijaz in the Christian Science Monitor, have argued that the elections in Jan. should be postponed to allow Bhutto’s party, the PPP, to regroup and allow for a more democratic contest. However, others, such as David Ignatius in the Washington Post, argue that the best legacy for Bhutto is to go ahead with elections as scheduled. On the other hand, some people, like China Hand writing at American Footprints, fear that Pakistan has already lost the opportunity for peaceful transfer of power.

An editorial at Foreign Policy Passport warns against the temptation of rushing back into the arms of Pakistan’s strongman, Pres. Pervez Musharraf, and burying Pakistan’s democracy along with Benazir Bhutto. On the other hand, an editorial at USA Today argues that “in the short term, the United States has no choice other than to support Musharraf.  For the longer term, it must find new champions of democracy.” An editorial in the Christian Science Monitor argues that the “way to honor Bhutto’s legacy is for Musharraf to pick up her banner of relentlessly trying to bring back democracy to Pakistan.”

Andrew C. McCarthy argues that the idea that Pakistan is on the verge of becoming a democracy has always been a fantasy. The real Pakistan is a place where Al-Qaeda has 46% of the popular support and is an enemy of the US and the West. “In that real Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto’s murder is not shocking. There, it was a matter of when, not if.” Josh Patashnik responds to McCarthy’s article by pointing out that Bhutto had even more support than Al-Qaeda. He argued that while Pakistan’s political culture is deeply illiberal and a more democratic Pakistan won’t immediately become a more steadfast ally against Al-Qaeda, the real Pakistan is not the gloomy picture McCarthy paints.

In two posts at Democracy Arsenal, Shadi Hamid writes that the threat of Islamist control of nuclear weapons is not the overriding concern some make it. While extremist have the power to threaten and terrorize they are not on the verge of a take over. He also writes that events like Bhutto’s assassination will continue and the Middle East will remain a powder keg until the problems of “decades if not centuries of economic, political, religious, and cultural stagnation” that produce extremism are resolved.

The Washington Post published a series of editorials reacting to Bhutto’s assassination: Teresita C. Schaffer writes about Pakistan’s uncertain hour, Ahmed Rashid writes about the void left behind, Post Global asks what’s next for Pakistan? with answers from several experts. Juan Cole, in an article in Salon, asks what Pres. Bush’s ‘Plan B‘ is now that Bhutto is gone.

Ali Eteraz cites Bhutto’s assassination as another example of “the ‘lash the victim’ mentality that is gaining such popularity amongst Muslims. … When the only populist leader in Pakistan is killed, we are now going to blame her for politically campaigning amongst the masses.”

(Cartoons are from the International Herald Tribune and the Washington Times, respectively.)

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Elections, Pakistan, Terrorism, US foreign policy |