The flop flipped

Bhadrakumar at the Asia Times points out the 180 degree turn in US policy towards Pakistan over the last week.

On July 17, assistant secretary of state Richard Boucher once again confirmed that the US expected Musharraf to be successful in combating the 'extremists'. Within 48 hours, that sunny expectation was no longer operative, and threats of direct intervention in the border regions by the US and NATO were the new line:

Three top-ranking US officials spoke in unison over the weekend, hinting at direct US military strikes inside Pakistan - White House spokesman Tony Snow, White House Homeland Security Adviser Fran Townsend, and National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell.

Mr. Bhadrakumar points out the the only event in that time period that might have provoked such an abrupt about face was Pakistan's Supreme Court ruling that the firing of the Chief Justice by Musharraf was illegal. Evidently, the rule of law in Pakistan is just as dangerous as the rule of law in the US to the administration.

According to the article, what we have to expect now is emergency rule in Pakistan, along with a bombing campaign in Waziristan. Certainly, that would be a dangerous roll of the dice, but the US is dependent on Pakistan for most of the logistic support for the excellent Afghanistan adventure, and evidently only Musharraf is trustworthy enough to guarantee that support.

It will be interesting to see if Mr. Bhadrakumar is correct in his prediction.