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Pakistan shakes off US shackles
via Asia Times:
Fallon did his best to "dissuade" Musharraf from going ahead with his plan, but had to ultimately give in. Fallon apparently warned Musharraf that future American aid for his beleaguered regime might be in jeopardy if the US Congress took a negative view of the rollback of civil liberties in Pakistan.
This wouldn't be the first time that the generals in Rawalpindi have done their homework as regards their corporate interests and proceeded to set aside Washington's unsolicited counsel.
A famous instance arose when, as the then deputy secretary of state in the Bill Clinton administration, Strobe Talbott, narrates in his book Engaging India, his desperate pleas with the Pakistani leadership not to emulate India in exploding a nuclear device in 1998 were simply ignored by the Pakistani generals
The initial statements of "regret" by the Western capitals, especially Washington, need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
The statement by the Pentagon spokesman is particularly important for the top brass of the Pakistani armed forces. The spokesman said the development "does not impact our military support for Pakistan ... Pakistan is a very important ally in the 'war on terror' and he [Secretary of Defense Robert Gates] is closely following the fast-moving developments there".
Thus, Musharraf knows that the US dependence on him is only likely to deepen in the coming weeks. Besides, Musharraf has succeeded in underscoring in Western capitals that he is the anchor of "stability" in Pakistan. No matter the actual ground reality, he has succeeded in projecting a perceived threat from militants. (The international community has no independent means of verifying these threat perceptions either.)
