LIE OF THE WEEK: 11-23-2007
President Bush on Pakistani Military Dictator Pervez Musharraf:
"I've found him to be a man of his word."
THE TRUTH: Unless Musharraf is secretly promising President Bush that he will maintain military rule as long as possible while allowing extremists rule large parts of his country, President Bush making this statement further proves that he doesn't care about his credibility with the American people or our allies. Musharraf has been promising to restore democracy to Pakistan since before President Bush came to office, not to mention promising to step down from his military post all along as well. None of these promises have come to fruition as he has instead broken down all of his country's democratic institutions in favor of his continued control. Although he was right to take power from a corrupt prime minister (Sharif) who attempted to assassinate him by not letting his almost-out-of-fuel plane land in 1999, he should have immediately held free and fair elections if he truly believed in freedom and democracy. Instead, he has followed President Bush's playbook by using the 9/11 attacks as an excuse for scaremongering and maintaining a hold on power. We need a major change in America's foreign policy of supporting friendly dictators because it truly is a major cause of terrorism, but it's sadly clear that this won't happen under President Bush or any of the currently leading 2008 contenders.
"I've found him to be a man of his word."
THE TRUTH: Unless Musharraf is secretly promising President Bush that he will maintain military rule as long as possible while allowing extremists rule large parts of his country, President Bush making this statement further proves that he doesn't care about his credibility with the American people or our allies. Musharraf has been promising to restore democracy to Pakistan since before President Bush came to office, not to mention promising to step down from his military post all along as well. None of these promises have come to fruition as he has instead broken down all of his country's democratic institutions in favor of his continued control. Although he was right to take power from a corrupt prime minister (Sharif) who attempted to assassinate him by not letting his almost-out-of-fuel plane land in 1999, he should have immediately held free and fair elections if he truly believed in freedom and democracy. Instead, he has followed President Bush's playbook by using the 9/11 attacks as an excuse for scaremongering and maintaining a hold on power. We need a major change in America's foreign policy of supporting friendly dictators because it truly is a major cause of terrorism, but it's sadly clear that this won't happen under President Bush or any of the currently leading 2008 contenders.
Labels: Lie of the Week
posted by The Debunker at 10:10 PM
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