December 12, 2007
“On Pakistan, finally, so far the only Islamic country with nuclear weapons, Pervez Musharraf’s government is under siege by civilian politicians clamoring for a return to democracy….With a nuclear arsenal up for grabs, the stakes in Pakistan are high. Bolstered by the Bush administration’s evident support, the politicians continue to try to force Musharraf out, which likely will be hailed as a triumph of democracy. That may be, but I am far from certain that elected civilians running Islamabad will make us safer from a loss of command-and-control over those nuclear weapons, or from the danger that they will come into terrorist hands. This is a risky way to experiment with democratic theory.” --John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the UN, op-ed in Commentary Magazine on What Kind of War Are We Fighting, and Can We Win It? November 2007
Of course we must avoid any action that disrupts military operations against our enemies. But to the extent that the Pakistani security apparatus has been employed since November 3 in rounding up lawyers, opposition politicians, journalists, and human rights activists – people who should be America’s natural allies and best friends -- it is difficult to argue that unqualified backing for Pakistan’s military supports the war against terrorism."
--Dr. Robert Hathaway, Asia Program Director, The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, testimony before the Subcommittee on International Development, Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs and International Environmental Protection, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, December 6, 2007