The Freedom Agenda Fizzles

How George Bush and Condoleezza Rice made a mess of Pakistan.

By Fred Kaplan
Posted Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, at 7:18 PM ET

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Now we've really got problems.

The state of emergency in Pakistan signals yet another low point in President George W. Bush's foreign policy—a stark demonstration of his paltry influence and his bankrupt principles. More than that, the crackdown locks us in a crisis—a potentially dangerous dynamic—from which there appears to be no escape route.

For much of last week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other top U.S. officials had been urging Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, not to declare martial law. He not only ignored these pleas; he defied them.