Title: Perils in Presidential
Peacemaking (Excerpts)
Author: Editorial
Publication: The New
York Times
Date: March 27, 2000
By his debatable decision
to include military-ruled Pakistan in his South Asian itinerary,
President Clinton set himself a tough challenge. He needed to make sure
that his presence there could not be construed as American endorsement
of the coup that brought General Musharraf to power five months
ago, or of the dangerous policies Pakistan has followed since, including
border incursions on Indian-ruled Kashmir, cozy ties with terrorist groups
and a continued commitment to nuclear weapons development. In his
six-hour stop in Islamabad on Saturday, including a 90-minute meeting
with General Musharraf and an unflinching television address to the
Pakistani people, Mr. Clinton delivered the right messages, but he
did not get a helpful response. Indeed, General Musharraf, in a surreal
news conference following the visit, sounded as if he had not heard a word
Mr. Clinton said.
Because of the close
intelligence links that grew up between the United States and Pakistan
during the cold war and the effort to expel Russian troops from Afghanistan,
some Pakistani military leaders imagine that Washington will
automatically back them in any future conflict. Mr. Clinton's
top priority was to refute that dangerous assumption. But he
also needed to make clear, as he did in his television address, that
America values its long years of friendship with Pakistan and that
ties between the countries could warm again if more sensible policies
took hold in Islamabad. Specifically, Pakistan must take a more peaceful
approach to Kashmir, sever ties with terrorists and move convincingly
toward signing the nuclear test ban treaty and restoring democracy.
Presidents are often
drawn to foreign affairs in the final months of their term because domestic
initiatives become entangled in campaign politics. But as Mr.
Clinton discovered over the weekend, there is no guarantee that
diplomatic efforts will be productive, especially in chronic trouble spots
like South Asia and the Middle East.