How Musharraf and Bush compare
Pakistan's ruling coalition, the governmental body that has taken office since the Democratic majority in Washington was elected in 2006, has announced that impeachment proceedings against President Pervez Musharraf will commence immediately.
The coalition says it's imperative impeachment should begin immediately because he apparently lacks a vote of confidence by the National Assembly.
Adding to this charge is a serious economic crisis, a surging terrorist buildup in Afghanistan and on the border within Pakistan and his failure to deal with urgent problems facing the country.
The charges leveled at this president to remove him from office are minuscule compared to the disastrous policies of the Bush Administration these past eight years. To wit:
Contrasting his administration from that of George W. Bush, Musharraf has not illegally invaded another country. He has not depleted the national treasury in order to fight a fraudulent war that's taken more than 4,000 American and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, displacing more than 2 million since the invasion of the country.
But there are also some similarities. One major point in the indictment charges Musharraf with removing 60 judges including a chief justice that have opposed his policies, similar to our federal attorney scandal that's rocked the administration.
Also he has been accused of conducting fraudulent elections in order to hold onto power as president.
He has allegedly destroyed critical documents and prevented inquiries that could have revealed more intrigue within his policies than otherwise known. He is charged with subverting Pakistan's Constitution to satisfy his own agenda.
Throughout the charges, the coalition repeats fraud, conspiracy, and criminal activity, all combined not to just delay the country's evolution toward a democracy but to destroy it.
If Pakistan's coalition to pursue impeachment of its president is not only appropriate but necessary, why not initiate such proceedings against George W. Bush who has committed far more serious crimes and misdemeanors of much greater magnitude against the people of this country and the world?
James D. Cook
Streamwood