I blog this item with a sense of disgust that I can't quite put into words. I've offered my reluctant share of"We-have-to-support-Musharraf- because-there-are-no-better-options" excuses up to this point, but I'll never offer another. Time to see through the General's power-lusting charade, and time for the Bush Administration and the State Department to put the pressure on this fascistic pretender to the throne.

I generally have mixed feelings about Nicholas Kristof's columns, but he is right on target with this one , which contains some important background on the Mukhtaran Bibi case. While I'm piling on Pakistan, you may as well read this Op-Ed by Sarah Chayes, first published a few weeks ago in the NY Times . Chayes is an interesting if controversial voice on matters South and Central Asian. I'm not sure I entirely buy the letter of her argument, but I wholeheartedly applaud the spirit.

Follow-up, June 16 : It's good to see that a little pressure did the trick in this case (NY Times link requires registration). So Mukhtaran Bibi is free to travel as she pleases. I'm not sure what this says about the Musharraf government, however.