democracy or not?

Does the US governmnent really want (as it sometimes says) democracy in the Muslim world? If so, then will the voices for change and against Musharraf in Pakistan be accepted as important? Will the White House consider the strong popular statement that rejected both the military dictatorship and the religious fascists? Will the designers of the "war on terror" respect this movement, or will the various voices for democracy in Pakistan be defined as an enemy of US interests?

Note that eariler this month, General Hayden (Shrub's intelligence boss) told Congress that Pakistan was facing threats so serious that the survival of the country was at stake. Of course, this would be a borrowing of the rhetoric of General Musharraf, who has been resorting to totalitarianism to hold on to power, amplifying his claim to importance by telling everyone that ONLY his harsh measures could "save" the nation.

Pakistanis seem to have disagreed. If the election had taken place under conditions less draconian, the disagreement would certainly have been even stronger.

So the White House will have to reveal its nature in this case. Will they go to the General's corner, pitting everything against the populace? Or will they back off from the regime they have invested in, leaving room for dissidents and alternative voices? Given history, I'd put money on the first option.

=================================
 By The Associated Press
Pakistan's ruling party conceded defeat Tuesday after opposition parties routed allies of President Pervez Musharraf in parliamentary elections that could threaten the rule of America's close ally in the war on terror.
A leading opposition figure suggested that Musharraf should listen to the
verdict of the people in the Monday balloting and step down.
The private Geo TV network said the party of slain former Prime Minister
Benazir Bhutto and another group led by ex-premier Nawaz Sharif had so far won 153 seats, more than half of the 272-seat National Assembly.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Q party was a distant third with 38 seats.
Several close political allies of Musharraf were election casualties. The
chairman of the ruling party, the foreign minister and railways minister were among those who lost seats in Punjab, the most populous province and a key electoral battleground.
Religious parties also fared badly, and were set to lose their control of the North West Frontier province gained in the last parliamentary elections in 2002, when they benefited from Pakistani anger over the U.S.-led invasion to topple the Taliban in Afghanistan.
The results cast doubt on the political future of Musharraf, who was
re-elected to a five year term last October in a controversial parliamentary ballot.
With the support of smaller groups and independent candidates, the opposition could gain the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to impeach Musharraf, who has angered many Pakistanis by allying the country with Washington in 2001 to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.