A “war on terror” is also a war on democracy? On Thursday’s NBC Nightly News, the broadcast closed with substitute anchor Lester Holt asking reporter Jim Maceda for his thoughts on the day’s top story, the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Maceda relayed that Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf would probably be saying “I told you so,” as he had warned against Bhutto holding a rally in the park in Rawalpindi. After the death, Maceda expected that Musharraf would “continue his crackdown on political rallies, on liberties, on protests, basically on democracy, all of that in the name of heightened security and Musharraf’s war on terror.”
MRC’s Kristine Lawrence found the item and offered the transcript:
LESTER HOLT: Our top story, the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. By an attacker who shot her at close range and then blew himself up and killed at least 20 other people. Now Pakistan and the world are preparing for Mrs. Bhutto's funeral tomorrow. All of which brings us to some final thoughts on this tonight from our veteran NBC correspondent Jim Maceda who has covered Pakistan and the region for more than 20 years. He's in our London bureau tonight. Jim, what has been going through your mind as you watched the events unfold in Pakistan today?
JIM MACEDA: Well Lester, in trying to look forward now, I can't help but look back, really. It was a couple months ago in Rawalpindi you will recall that Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest to prevent her and her party from having a major political rally like the one today, in a popular place called Liaquat Bagh park. Well, I went with a crew and we got through waves of riot police and barricades to try to gauge reaction at the park, but we never got there. The police kept us about a half mile away. There were reports of a suicide bomber in the area, that we were prime targets, so we left. That was November 9th. Fast forward to today. Benazir Bhutto finally gets her rally in the very same park and is killed by a suicide bomber. You can almost hear Pervez Musharraf saying I told you so. So, what’s next? Most likely, Pervez Musharraf will continue his crackdown on political rallies, on liberties, on protests, basically on democracy, all of that in the name of heightened security and Musharraf’s war on terror.
Don’t think Maceda is always hostile to world leaders who have inconsistent records on democracy. Maceda is the same man who touted Soviet dictator Mikhail Gorbachev on Christmas Day in 1991 as a historic hero: "By American presidential standards, Mikhail Gorbachev accomplished enough in his seven-year term to qualify for a bust on Mount Rushmore."
—Tim Graham is Director of Media Analysis at the Media Research Center.
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Ummmmm....
December 28, 2007 - 16:31 ET by OldSailor88Don't you think Mr. Maceda meant "So, what’s next? Most likely, Pervez Musharraf will continue his
crackdown on political rallies, on liberties, on protests, basically on
democracy, all of that in the name of heightened security, the mighty dollar, and
Musharraf’s extremely profitable pseudo-war on terror."
Ecce potestas casei!
It appears the mindset of some middle
December 28, 2007 - 22:22 ET by Cape Conservativeeastern societies is not compatible with "democracy" and it would serve America well if our leaders would recognize that fact.
Reading about Putin's Russia in Time today made my skin crawl, yet it seems many Russians are not that concerned. Another "democracy" experiment that ended in failure (in our eyes) but perhaps there actually are some who do not wish to live in a free society and accept all the personal responsibility that goes along with it.
".......but perhaps there
December 29, 2007 - 00:42 ET by Sonny Lykos".......but perhaps there actually are some who do not wish to live in a free society and accept all the personal responsibility that goes along with it."
And America and it's own citizens is getting closer to that every year. The Democrats have already picked on that and is why so many of us will vote in a nanny state. Freedom in exchange for government Mommy and Daddy.
A different sort of goat
December 28, 2007 - 22:46 ET by Lame CherryI will try and go with Musharraf and not Musharrif as I was accustomed, but on the subject at hand.............did the MSM really listen to what it was whining about.
Musharraf will crush MOB RULE.
That actually sounds like a good thing.
On the contrary Bhutto has been held up as some Ghandi, but let us examine her facts:
1. She was accused of being a crook on funds.
2. She showed up in Pakistan and 100 people got murdered.
3. She says if she is murdered she will blame Musharraf.
4. Her security sucked and that is her prancing around Pakistan responsibilty. She could Hillary yell about wanting to be president so she could have got security.
5. She stages more rallies and wonder of wonders, now it looks like al Qaeda which has it's sights on Pak's Bill Clinton nukes assassinated her to destablize the nation even more.
6. Bhutto's legacy:
A. Twenty plus people murdered, one a police officer shot down.
B. al Qaeda is strengthened.
C. Liberals in Pakistan are calling for the head of Musharraf and the topping of the Pak government.
Bhutto like Hillary Clinton is a disaster for her nation. She has done nothing to secure it's future.
I frankly would be ashamed and horrified to know that my death would cause the death's of others and might lead to a nuclear bombing of innocent people.
Great legacy there Bhutto and perhaps the MSM should learn what kind of goat it is complaining about.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
So he's trying to show some
December 28, 2007 - 23:57 ET by rbosqueSo he's trying to show some equivalency between Bush and Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf? If he wants to accuse anyone of crushing democracy, he can look no further than the DNC in their efforts to re-write the Constitution and slowely turning the U.S. into a socialist state.
no matter what musharraf does ...
December 29, 2007 - 00:49 ET by pmohbuckhe's doomed by the MSM ... they've pretty much implicated him in the assassination on every account ... with the exception of a doctored photo of him smashing her head into her car ... which i'm sure is in the works as we speak
Moonbats scratching beards and adjusting eyeglasses,
December 29, 2007 - 01:16 ET by mastersofdeceitStill trying to figure out the world around them.
Liberty and security are not mutually exclusive
December 29, 2007 - 02:22 ET by KC MulvilleMaceda may simply be criticizing Musharraf. But if he's making a general point that all wars against terror are enemies of democracy, then he's wrong. That draws a false contrast between security and liberty. Security is not opposed to democracy. Quite the contrary, the common defense is part of democracy.
It's a liberal myth to believe that democracy only means an individual's absolute right to dissent. (By liberal myth, I mean that not all liberals believe it, but those who do are always liberal.) Democracy is so much more than mere toleration of dissent. It's a comprehensive understanding of the relation between the individual and society. It includes rights as well as obligations. Democracy allows each individual to have an equal say in the affairs of government, but it also compels each individual to support the common defense.
If Maceda believes that the common defense is outside of what democracy means, he doesn't understand democracy.
In my opinion, Musharraf was
December 29, 2007 - 02:46 ET by BlackwaterIn my opinion, Musharraf was not part of the assassination. There is a small possibility that someone within the government ordered it out thinking it was for the good of Musharraf. The greatest possibility is that it was perpetrated by Al Qaeda or an extremist religous group that wants to destabalize Pakistan farther then it already is. The reason for that is simple, a destabalized Pakistan is less effective at fighting terrorism then a stabalize Pakistan.