Pakistan "Emergency" Ban of Constitution, Independent Media-- A Media Emergency In USA Too
Rob Kall
This may look like a major development, but it is really just a shift-- a shift to activating policies, rules and laws that Pervez Musharaf has been putting in place for years-- and that the BUsh administration has been enabling.
The Bush administation, on the surface, selling it's efforts to support Democracy, has, throughout the world, as has long been the policy of right wing American leaders, been, in actuality, supporting dictators, totalitarianism and the diminishing of democracy.
Musharaf's declaration of emergency was responded to by the one democratic member of the Pakistani supreme court. He declared the declaration illegal. Musharaf removed him from office, along with many other outspoken voices. The rest of Musharaf's supreme court backed Musharaf.
This sounds like USA 2000, when the USA Supreme Court named George Bush president. You see, the US sets the example for the rest of the world. What we are seeing happening in Pakistan is an echo of what started in the US.
The Bush administration has given over $10 billion in aid to Pakistan, which Musharaf has put into his military, thus consolidating his power.
Does this remind you of how the US supported Saddam Hussein, in his fight against Iran?
Besides declaring an emergency, suspending the constitution and shutting down independent media, Anti-military rule activists and attorneys were rounded up and arrested. This is a huge setback for democracy, which, frankly, I don't think is of big concern to Bush, deep down. But the PR problem-- that's a different story. But never fear, he's got Condi Rice, the most ineffective, worthless Secretary of State, the most useless diplomatic leader the US has seen in recent history. BUt it's worse than an embarassment to the Bush administration.
It is possible, even likely, that Musharaf, as he twists and turns to build his power base, will reject the US as a partner. Why would he do that? The US has marginalized its power, built such an incredible momentum aimed at attacking Iran, that it is unable to shift it's diplomatic, military and propaganda focus to face the reality that Pakistan, with its fully functioning Nuclear weapons and industry is vastly more dangerous than Iran, with its incipient nuclear technologies.
I've long felt that Bush's diplomatic and military relationship with Pakistan has been the biggest mistake since declaring war on Iraq. Oh. Wait. Declaring war on Iraq wasn't a mistake. It was intentional fraud and engagement in international war crimes--- with the purpose of raising the prices of oil, driving the US voters to manifest their patriotism by loyally supporting a war president, building fear into the way Americans think, and creating a massive boondoggle for companies that supported the Bush administration-- military industrial complex companies which just happened to own the mainstream media, which drummed along, supporting the war lies Bush was selling.
Now, it will be interesting to see how the mainstream media handle the insane situation, where a dictator has taken over a country where Nuclear weapons are locked and loaded. In Pakistan, the dictator has shut down all internal independent media. This morning's news shows in the US are still focusing on Hillary's behavior in the Tuesday debate, in Philly, followed by the fact that South Carolina Democrats spurned Steven Colbert's efforts to get on the Dem primary ballot.
America's mainstream media has pretty much died. Infected by corporatism, it has become the corpstream media-- corpselike and corps controlled. We are living in dangerous times. We have much to fear-- not the the things the Bush administration and the right wing suggest-- but the things the Bush administation and the right wing perpetrate.