Amidst Turmoil, 'Wash Post' Pakistan Chief Manages to Do Web Q & A

By: In another of the wonders of electronic journalism, the Washington Post's Islamabad/Kabul bureau chief, Griff Witte, managed to find time to sit for an online Q & A with reades at the Post's site just after 11 a.m. ET today.

Here are some excerpts.

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Mount Rainier, Md.: Given that our support of the Musharraf regime has not resulted in the permanent disbanding of the Taliban, nor the capture of Osama Bin Laden, can the U.S. -- with its stated goal of spreading democracy -- really continue to send this guy $150 million a month while he locks up the opposition? If we do, what does that say about the status of America's civil discourse -- how many steps away from that kind of reaction are we really?

Griff Witte: There's certainly a lot of sentiment among moderate, anti-Musharraf forces in Pakistan that the U.S. has bet on the wrong horse not only from the perspective of democracy, but on the counter-terrorism front as well. Their argument is that Musharraf has expended more energy battling the mainstream political opposition than he has on battling the Taliban and al Qaeda. Just based on evidence over the past couple of days since the emergency declaration, it's hard to argue with that.

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Kansas City, Mo.: I have to believe that if the Bush administration had focused on Afghanistan first then Osama would have been caught and all of this wouldn't have happened. Any chance of the administration deciding to take Afghanistan seriously now?

Griff Witte: If anything, I get the sense that Afghanistan has been even further lost in the shuffle. Most military analysts believe that Afghanistan won't get any better until the problem of militancy in northwestern Pakistan is addressed. But with Pakistan in political upheaval, the problem of militancy has had to wait.

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New York: Why does the U.S. rely so much on Gen. Musharraf? After all, it's not Gen. Musharaf but the force of Army behind him. Why not pick another general now, given that Gen. Musharaf has proven to be a very bad boy?

Griff Witte: A very bad boy? That's a new one.

To answer your question, the U.S. doesn't have much choice in the matter. Pakistan's army is known for being very disciplined, and very hierarchical. Musharraf has been the army's chief for about a decade now. He has promised several times to step down, but so far hasn't, and there's evidence that he never will (at least not willingly). For him to be dislodged, it would require officers below him to carry out a coup. And while that possibility is the subject of much discussion and speculation here, it would be a very extreme step indeed.

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Longmont, Colo.: I see that the lawyers are protesting, but what about everyone else? How can millions of people sit by while their freedoms are removed in a day? Will the crackdowns be like those Burma? If so, can we sit by and watch?

Griff Witte: This is an important question, and the answer will have much bearing on how this all plays out. No one knows yet whether the general public will follow the lawyers into the streets. Today I watched as hundreds of black-suited lawyers chanted their distaste for Musharraf. And hundreds of regular citizens stood around and watched, not joining in. It's possible they eventually will. Despite the dominance of the military over the course of Pakistan's 60-year history, the country also has a rich tradition of participatory politics. Few countries do crowds like Pakistan. But it will probably require mobilization by the political parties to bring people out, and it's still not clear whether the leadership is willing or able to do that.

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Arlington, Va.: How real was the threat of extermists in Pakistan? Why was did Musharraf declare a state of emergency now as opposed to earlier or later? And (depending on how big the threat of extermists really is) was the real reasoning behind the state of emergency (and the moves against the judiciary) to keep Musharraf in power?

Griff Witte: The threat is quite real. The Taliban and al Qaeda have consolidated their hold in the tribal areas that hug the border with Afghanistan, and they're spreading out from there. In recent months, terrorists have struck regularly and with devastating consequences in villages and cities across the country.

But it's become clear that the emergency declaration had very little to do with countering terrorism. Musharraf made the decision after he learned the Supreme Court would rule him ineligible for another term as president. Since then, he's arrested more than 1,000 political opponents. Meanwhile the government yesterday released about 30 militants in a prisoner exchange with one of the Taliban's top commanders. There are no plans to use the emergency period to launch a new offensive against al Qaeda or the Taliban.

Fighting terrorism made for a good excuse, but no one really believes that that's the reason Pakistan is now under de facto martial law.