A Pilgrim’s Digression

I’ll attribute my long hiatus from my blog to the aftereffects of the war. Innui is the common state of modern man; even war can galvanize our attention for only so long, and then afterwards, we sink back into slothful rumination.

Today, I noted in the New York Times a curious photograph of President Bush and President Musharraf of Pakistan at Camp David. The accompanying article, Bush and Pakistani Leader Hail ‘Special Relationship’, explains that Musharraf is the first South Asian leader to visit Camp David. My memory is as bad as Winston Smith’s, I admit, but at one time, didn’t Musharraf seize power in Pakistan via a military coup? Is his country no longer a military dictatorship? Alliances of expediency are what lead us into our biggest problems. We supported Bin Laden during his fight against the Russians in Afghanistan. At the same time, we supported Saddam in his war against Iran. An alliance with Musharraf might be expedient now, in order to capture Bin Laden and defuse Al Qaeda, but will the future look back on this time and ask the same questions we, today, ask about the Reagan administration and its dealings with Bin Laden and Hussein? If Pakistan and India ever go to war again, whose side will we be on?