Night Edit musings.

Dec 07, 2008 23:01

Here I am at night edit, passing the time as I "learn" the routines around this job. I just saw a series of headlines on NewYorkTimes.com:
Pakistan’s Spies Aided Group Tied to Mumbai Siege
By ERIC SCHMITT, MARK MAZZETTI AND JANE PERLEZ 52 minutes ago

Lashkar-e-Taiba has gained strength in recent years with the help of Pakistan’s main spy service, American intelligence officials say.

Muslims in India Put Aside Grievances to Repudiate Terrorism
By ROBERT F. WORTH

Throngs of Indian Muslims marched through Mumbai and several other cities, proclaiming their condemnation of terrorism and loyalty to the Indian state.

Militants in Pakistan Destroy NATO Trucks
By JANE PERLEZ 10:02 PM ET

The attack on more than 100 trucks carrying supplies for U.S. troops was the third attack in less than a month.

Plan to Deepen Economic Ties Between India and Pakistan Is on Hold in Wake of Attacks
By SOMINI SENGUPTA

On India and Pakistan’s long road of rivalry and reconciliation, how long this current tension will last or where it will lead remains unclear.

See those headlines? Pervez Musharraf held Pakistan together. People weren't afraid to leave their homes in his administration. It may have been military rule, but it was stable and the extremists were being suppressed in his grasp. He said that he would revert back to democracy after the country gained stability. But that wasn't enough. The international community started complaining about the lack of democracy there. Look at those headlines without Musharraf to hold the country together. There's your democracy.

People need to get over the slippery-slope argument. It is a logical fallacy. Letting Musharraf hold on to his dictatorship when he said that he would let go eventually was the right idea. People were too afraid to be patient and demanded that he let go and the result is "history." I'm afraid that if Ataturk were around now, he'd be treated the same way. It is a shame what people do out of fear.

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