Former Ambassador Bolton: Dictators are good for stability

Bolton: US Should Support Musharraf

By EDITH M. LEDERER


UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The United States should support President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to prevent Pakistan's nuclear arsenal from falling into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists or al-Qaida terrorists, former U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said Friday.

The United States has repeatedly urged Musharraf to restore constitutional order since he seized emergency powers last week, rounded up thousands of opponents and sent security forces to break up protests.

"I think, in fact, the United States has contributed to some of the instability by applying less than robust support of Musharraf," said Bolton, who stepped down as ambassador to the United Nations nearly a year ago when it became clear he could not win confirmation in the Senate.

He returned to U.N. headquarters to promote his new book, "Surrender Is Not An Option."

At an hour-long press conference, the staunchly conservative Bolton criticized Bush administration's policies not only on Pakistan but on Iran, Iraq, and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Bolton, currently a senior fellow at the Washinton-based American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said the spread of weapons of mass destruction is "the predominant threat of our time" and should remain the highest strategic interest of the United States.

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freedom.

The US might be the Land of Opportunity, but for most of the world's people, 'opportunity' is a nice word for 'risk' and most people want stability over risk.

Look how no one fought for Gore in Dec. 2000. Most people didn't care, so a small coven of Republicans were able to railroad the election.

In the Former Soviet Union, 'freedom' is synonymous with 'chaos'.

Unfortunately, Bolton's right here.

Surprising, then, that Hussein should have been number with a bullet (you should pardon the expression) on the neocon hit parade (likewise).

Bolton's distant relative, Captain Kangaroo, reportedly rolled over in his grave through out the press conference."

The ultimate moral bankruptcy of the neo-con dream...that there's some template of American "democracy" that can and must be proliferated around the world. But then when it's not the "democracy" they want (or can control), a dictatorship is just fine. Total hypocrisy that dominates this regime and the corporate media.

Here's the latest boooshie boy mess. Musharaf is his boy...joined at the head and oil pan. They can't afford to let him go down...even to Bhutto and free elections. And as usual, this regime has bet on the wrong horse. Musharaf is literaly a dead man walking...as if he agrees to power share with Bhutto his military will revolt and if he doesn't control the protests, the military will revolt. For now, Musharaf can throw money around to hold on, but even that game will play out as the more the strife, the higher the price goes to keep his protection.

The one saving grace of the Iraq fiasco has been how it's totally debunked the neo-cons...they had to walk the walk and fell on their face. Except for the corporate media who keep bringing these shitstains out of the weeds, few others are listening anymore.

He wouldn't know freedom if it sat on his face.

The fall of a dictator can be a thing to cheer. It can also be a thing to fear greatly, depending on how the power vacuum is filled.