Easyjet To The Rescue!

As I understand the left's current position - and I admit I haven't checked for a couple of hours - removing Saddam wasn't worth plunging Iraq into chaos and the consequent loss of life. On the other hand, Musharraf should be forced out though the heavens fall.

Saddam invading neighbouring countries was a social faux pas to be sure, but at least he never did anything as serious as Musharraf who... well, what exactly ? By the standards of the region, let alone Pakistan itself, what is Musharraf supposed to have done ?

Maybe Musharraf isn't really representative of the proverbial man in the street, but in Pakistan that might be no bad thing:

It is the new way of warfare to proclaim that our quarrel is never with the heroic, struggling people of fill-in-the-blank country. No, we, of course, fight only the regime that oppresses them and frustrates their unquestionable desire for freedom and equality.

Pakistan just won’t cooperate with this noble narrative.

Whether we get round to admitting it or not, in Pakistan, our quarrel is with the people. Their struggle, literally, is jihad. For them, freedom would mean institutionalizing the tyranny of Islamic fundamentalism. They are the same people who, only a few weeks ago, tried to kill Benazir Bhutto on what was to be her triumphant return to prominence — the symbol, however dubious, of democracy’s promise. They are the same people who managed to kill her today. Today, no surfeit of Western media depicting angry lawyers railing about Musharraf — as if he were the problem — can camouflage that fact.

On the other hand, I may have an answer. Yes, Pakistan is full of lunatics, but the open borders lobby has spent years telling us that a few hours in a metal tube, eating bad food, can turn anyone - terrorists, pushers or perverts - into model British citizens, so that's the answer. Free flights for everyone - they can go see Everest and by the time they land, they'll be ready to forsake jihad and get careers in Islamabad City Council's newly opened Lesbian Outreach Centre, won't they ?