Author: Bill Nichols
Publication: USA Today
Date: February 14, 2002
Some express doubts about Musharraf
Pakistani president embraced as 'friend' on U.S. visit, but is it a lasting
friendship?
Pervez Musharraf couldn't have dreamed
of a warmer welcome.
In his long-sought first official
visit to the White House, the beaming Pakistani president won lavish praise
Wednesday from a grateful President Bush, who said Pakistan's help has
been critical to the U.S. war against terrorism.
''I want to remind people from Pakistan
that I didn't mention many world leaders in my State of the Union (address).
But I mentioned President Musharraf for a reason,'' Bush said. ''I'm proud
to call him friend.''
But even as Musharraf basked in
the warm reception midway through a three-day visit to Washington, his
trip raises questions about just how stable the Bush-Musharraf partnership
could be in the coming months or years.
U.S. officials appreciate Musharraf's
support. But they also worry about his tenuous hold on power in a deeply
divided and impoverished nation, as well as his personal credibility in
the wake of a series of questionable public statements.
The kinship is new: Musharraf took
power by leading a military coup in 1999, and the United States kept him
at arm's length until Pakistan's help became crucial to military success
against neighboring Afghanistan and its Taliban regime.
U.S. officials say they believe
Musharraf favors dramatic change for his country. Bush lauded a speech
Musharraf gave last month in which he promised to move Pakistan away from
religious extremism and tolerance of terrorism and toward, as Bush put
it, ''a progressive, modern and democratic Islamic society.''
Musharraf gave the speech to defuse
tensions with India after terrorists attacked India's Parliament. India
blamed the incident on Pakistan-based terrorist groups that have long had
ties to Pakistan's intelligence services.
Experts question whether Musharraf
is serious about ending state support for terrorism. ''One must take his
latest statements about wanting Pakistan to be a secular Muslim society
with a grain of salt,'' says Ted Galen Carpenter, a foreign policy analyst
at the Cato Institute.
Other comments by Musharraf also
illustrate stark divisions between Islamabad and Washington, as well as
concerns within the Bush administration about his personal style. Some
examples:
* At times, Musharraf sounds like
a peacemaker, stressing that differences with India, including a feud over
the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, should ''be settled through peaceful
means.'' Pakistan, which is predominantly Muslim, says the largely Muslim
province should be free of Indian control. India, a secular but largely
Hindu country, has control of just less than 50% of Kashmir.
But at other times during his trip,
Musharraf has sounded bellicose: He blamed India for current tensions,
and called his nuclear rival's military buildup ''aggressive,'' ''massive''
and ''provocative.''
* Musharraf keeps calling for U.S.
mediation for Kashmir. ''We believe the United States can . . . help South
Asia turn a new leaf,'' he said Wednesday. But Bush keeps rebuffing the
request and says only the two countries can solve the dispute.
* Musharraf has a penchant for provocative
statements that cause shudders in the Bush administration. The latest example:
Tuesday, he suggested that India either plans or has conducted a nuclear
test. U.S. officials scoff at the suggestion.
Last week, Musharraf said India
might be behind the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl, an assertion
that U.S. and Indian officials dismissed.
In January, Musharraf said he thought
terrorist leader Osama bin Laden had died from kidney disease. Asked about
that during a visit to the Pentagon on Wednesday, Musharraf wouldn't repeat
it. He said instead, ''I would certainly think that he is in Afghanistan
either dead or alive.''
* Massive security around Musharraf
-- every audience member was searched twice before being admitted to a
speech Tuesday -- spoke to another nagging concern: the stability of his
regime. His decision to crush some terror groups has triggered a powerful
backlash among Muslim fundamentalists.
''There's still worry that his government
may not survive in the long run,'' says David Albright, a leading expert
on Pakistan's nuclear program. ''I don't think that issue is completely
settled.''
