Sunday, August 19, 2007

Questions

Thus, questions remain unanswered. Shall Pakistan's voter rolls be cleansed to guarantee a fair election? Shall Musharraf be named president by the existing electoral college prior to national elections? Shall corruption charges against Bhutto be pursued? Shall the two-term limitation for prime minister be lifted for her? Shall Bhutto return before the election, which Musharraf opposes?

Bhutto was kept busy in New York by the American news media that ignored her for years but now craved interviews. It is not internal Pakistani power struggles that interest Americans. "The war on terror must be won in Pakistan," she told me. She wants to make Pakistan a democratic ally in that war, confronting extremists in the madrassas "that brainwash our children into intolerance."