General Pervez MusharrafGeneral Pervez Musharraf, the dictator of Pakistan, sat down recently with The Guardian of Britain for an interview to proclaim that he is not a dictator. Musharraf insisted that he is a believer in democracy and his mission is to bring democracy to Pakistan:

Gen Musharraf said his mission was to democratise Pakistan. "My popularity has gone down … but at this moment my country needs me. I’ve put a strong constitutional democratic system in place. That will throw up a successor. I’m a strong believer in democracy."

Like President Bush, General Musharraf believes that democracy can be achieved with the power of the gun. While Mr. Bush is experimenting with gunboat democracy on an international level, General Musharraf is implementing this theory at the domestic level:

"It is ironic that I’m sitting in uniform talking of democracy … but to bring democracy into Pakistan I thought I needed it," he said.

Democracy, according to Musharraf, must be properly nurtured and trained. One key element in Musharraf’s theory of democracy is to ensure that there is no viable opposition.  What better way to encourage democracy than to send your opposition leaders packing to a democratic country to learn about democracy:

The leaders of the two main opposition parties, Benazir Bhutto of the Pakistan Peoples party and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, are in exile and face arrest if they return home. Meeting in London this week they launched a fresh political alliance and called for western support.

In spite of General Musharraf’s good intentions there are still those that criticize his stewardship of Pakistani democracy. To these unbelievers, he has this to say:

Criticism of his military-driven strategy came from "people who sit in drawing rooms and talk", he said, but added that a political solution was also being sought.

Clearly too much talk is not good for a healthy democratic society. General Musharraf also is nurturing freedom of the press. However, there are times when a General has to take matters into his own hands in dealing with the press. Sacrifices must be made for the sake of democracy:

An American Predator drone fired Hellfire missiles at a house in Bajaur tribal agency in January, killing 18 people but missing their target, al-Qaida’s second in command, Ayman al-Zawahiri. The attack near the Afghan border caused public uproar and brought renewed accusations that Gen Musharraf was a US puppet.

Local journalist Hayatullah Khan, who photographed missile fragments linking the strikes to the US, disappeared four days later and is still missing. A western diplomat said he was probably being held by Pakistani intelligence and may have been mistreated. [Emphasis added by me]

Democracy in Pakistan is a high ideal. To achieve it, General Musharraf understands that he must get tough on some elements in his country. There are terrorists in Pakistan and they must be crushed if democracy is to take hold:

Gen Musharraf defended his tactic of using military force instead of negotiation to quell the violence and said some collateral damage was inevitable when militants’ hideouts were attacked.

"We take extreme care to be 100% sure of the target from all sources of intelligence … There is minimum collateral damage. If someone happens to be very close to [the target], that somebody is an abetter and they suffer the loss. Sometimes, indeed, women and children have been killed but they have been right next to the place. It’s not that the strike was inaccurate but they happen to be there, so therefore they are all supporters and abetters of terrorism - and therefore they have to suffer. It’s bad luck," he said. [Emphasis added by me.]

There is no doubt that supporters and abetters of terrorism must be snuffed out. You certainly do not want to take any chances that a 2 year old (who is clearly already supporting terrorists) might one day grow up and become really dangerous. General Musharraf is, if nothing else, thorough. He will not only kill you, but he will kill your entire family, to ensure that freedom remains on the march.

General Musharraf also has a good handle on unrest in Pakistan. He has assessed the situation and decided that it is well in hand. He has also determined that his enemies are pygmies:

Gen Musharraf also played down unrest in the resource-rich province of Baluchistan, where nationalist militants are blowing up gas pipelines and trains and attacking army positions. He described the rebels as "mercenaries" and their attacks as "pin pricks", and said the disturbances were confined to one-twentieth of the province’s area.

"So what revolt are you talking about? People talk about an East Pakistan situation," he said, referring to the secession of Bangladesh in 1971. "I understand strategy. These people are pygmies."

With General Musharraf in charge of the effort to bring democracy to Pakistan, I feel that Mr. Bush’s vision of bringing democracy to the Muslim world is well on its way to fruition. It is reassuring to know that we have allied ourselves with such a courageous patriot and a lover of freedom and the rights of man. My hat is off to this thug named Musharraf.