Jul 09 2007
Some Pakistanis plea for democracy in their country
The west has been friendly with the current regime in Pakistan, as the US and the UK have felt the need for a friend in that troubled part of the world. Opposition figures in?? Pakistan are very worried,??claiming ??the present Pakistani government is not strong enough to prevent the growth of Islamist radicalism in that country.
The US and the UK are learning the hard way how difficult it is to create and defend democracies in the Middle East, when they need as friends regimes that fundamentally disgree with them, and are not intersted in applying democratic principles to their own country. The longer the US and the UK try to buttress democracy in Afghanistan and Iraq, the more difficult it is to develop consistent and fruitful friendships with other non democratic countries in the region.
John Redwood has been the Member of Parliament for Wokingham since 1987. First attending Kent College, Canterbury, he graduated from Magdalen College...
Well, this is why I was a bit peeved with the Rushdie honour. Given the current geo-political siututaion the last thing we want to do is cause yet more tensions in Pakistan. The place looks in danger of going potty to me, and it has nuclear weapons.
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