Cheney warns Musharraf to get tough in War on Terror--or else Democratic Congress will cut aid to Pakistan

Vice President Cheney’s trip was shrouded in secrecy, and he was on the ground for only a few hours, sharing a private lunch with Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan at his palace. Pakistan Press Information Dept., via Associated Press

Now this is a rather ironic story here from The New York Times:

WASHINGTON, Feb. 25 — Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Monday to deliver what officials in Washington described as an unusually tough message Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, warning him that the newly Democratic Congress could cut aid to his country unless his forces become far more aggressive in hunting down operatives with Al Qaeda.

Mr. Cheney’s trip was shrouded in secrecy, and he was on the ground for only a few hours, sharing a private lunch with the Pakistani leader at his palace. Notably, Mr. Cheney traveled with the deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Steve Kappes, an indication that the conversation with the Pakistani president likely included discussion of American intelligence agency contentions that Al Qaeda camps have been reconstituted along the border of Afghanistan.

The decision to send Mr. Cheney secretly to Pakistan came after the White House concluded that General Musharraf is failing to live up to commitments he made to Mr. Bush during a visit here in September. General Musharraf insisted then, both in private and public, that a peace deal he struck with tribal leaders in one of the country’s most lawless border areas would not diminish the hunt for the leaders of Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Now, American intelligence officials have concluded that the terrorist infrastructure is being rebuilt, and that while Pakistan has attacked some camps, its overall effort has flagged.

So Dick Cheney took a secret trip to Pakistan in order to warn Musharraf to start getting tough on the Bush administration's Great War on Terror, otherwise them evil Democrats will cut U.S. military aid to Pakistan. Isn't this the same Dick Cheney who has compared House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's opposition to the Bush surge as helping al Qaeda terrorists? Is this the same Dick Cheney who has claimed that the Democrat's withdrawal or redeployment proposals actually "validates the terrorist strategy?" Is this the same Dick Cheney who suggested to American voters that if they elected John Kerry in the 2004 presidential elections, they would face another 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States? Is this the same Dick Cheney who accuses critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy as aiding the terrorists? Well, now it appears that not only are the critics and the Democrats who oppose the Bush administration's Iraq policy are not only aiding al Qaeda terrorists, but now they want to cut U.S. aid to Pakistan because Musharraf isn't doing enough to fight against those al Qaeda terrorists. Mr. Vice President, if the Bush critics and congressional Democrats are terrorist sympathizers, as you have alluded to so many times before, then why would they want to cut military aid to Pakistan because of Musharraf's inability to remove al Qaeda's presence from Pakistan? If anything, these congressional Democrats/al Qaeda terrorist sympathizers should be happy with Musharraf's lack of progress in fighting the Great War on Terror. Al Qaeda is rebuilding its network inside Pakistan. The last thing that these congressional Democrats/al Qaeda terrorist sympathizers would want is to demand Musharraf to get tough on the Great War, or else the congressional Democrats/al Qaeda terrorist sympathizers will cut U.S. aid to Pakistan. Mr. Vice President, there is no logic to your arguments here. If anything, these congressional Democrats/al Qaeda terrorist sympathizers would want to tell Musharraf that Pakistan is doing a great job in fighting the Great War on Terror, and that we should be providing even more U.S. aid to Pakistan to help them in their fight.

I think I need to go play on my Sit-and-Spin now.