Tuesday, June 27, 2006

US Think Tanks Dump Mush?


Readers my profuse apologies for my prolonged absence. My work load simply overwhelmed me and I have just managed to clear most of it.

In a day or two the blog will be running as per normal. Until then here is a bit from Najam Sethi telling us that the some powerful US Think Tanks are treating our Head Chowkidar as 'history' and are now concerned about the post-Musharraf period in Pakistan.
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From the Daily Times

Sethi said that when he visited the USA last year, he met officials from four major think tanks and all them were supporting Musharraf and had little interest in Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. But when he visited this year, the situation was different. “All the think tanks seemed very critical of General Musharraf. The State Department and Pentagon are supporting Musharraf but the think tanks have moved away from him. Now they are talking about a post-Musharraf period and think that he is history,” Sethi said.

He said that the US think tanks fear that if something happens to Musharraf, who has already been the target of several assassination attempts, or there is a crisis of legitimacy surrounding his position, then there is no political system in place to continue Musharraf’s good work.

He said that the US Congress takes suggestions from think tanks through its sub-committees, and the Congress-suggested cut in US aid to Pakistan was a reflection of the mood of the think tanks.