October 1, 2005 ☼ Foreign Affairs
This is an archived blog post from The Acorn.
Gen. Musharraf ’s Lies: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf complains that his country is unfairly portrayed as a place where rape and other violence against women are rampant and frequently condoned… In fact, it deserves such a reputation. So retrograde are Pakistan’s laws that there are more than 1,500 women in prison as a result of rapes — they were prosecuted for adultery — while arrests of men occur in only about 15 percent of reported cases.
Gen. Musharraf, too, deserves the reputation he is earning as a ruler who cares more about how he is perceived in the West than in implementing the policies he claims to espouse, or even in speaking the truth. The general, who seized power in a coup six years ago, has reneged on promises to retire from the army or restore democracy. He has not carried out the reform of Islamic religious schools that he promised in 2001. He has allowed the extremist Afghan Taliban movement to base itself in Pakistan’s western provinces with virtual impunity. He has repeatedly insisted, almost certainly falsely, that Osama bin Laden is not in Pakistan. All the while he has gone on collecting hundreds of millions of dollars in aid each year from the Bush administration, which accepts his words and ignores most of his actions. [WP]The editor of the Washington Post forgot about Musharraf’s lies about the jihadis who continue to carry out attacks in Kashmir. But for writing such a good article they can be forgiven for this lapse. Especially for the manner in which the editorial concludes.
When Gen. Musharraf’s statement provoked an uproar, he responded with another lie: He claimed that he had never made it. In fact, a recording of him speaking is available on The Post’s Web site, washingtonpost.com. His words are quite clear. “These are not my words, and I would go to the extent of saying I am not so silly and stupid to make comments of this sort,” the general said. Well, yes, he is. [WP]
Related Link: Anna over at Sepia Mutiny doesn’t spare him either. While the Reality Cafe has started a project to help those searching for an insensitive jerk.
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