Yesterday there was a fourth assassination attempt on the leader of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf since he began supporting the United States in the fight against al Qaeda when antiaircraft fire was directed at his airplane as it took off from an airbase in Pakistan.
There is a strong opposition within Pakistan for President Musharraf and his cooperation with the United States. Recent unrest developed when he removed the countries Chief Justice and this week there is the demonstration of 1,200 students who have taken refuge in the Red Mosque.
The reason this situation is so dangerous is because unlike Iraq, Iran or Syria, Pakistan has both nuclear weapons and the long range missiles with which to deliver them. Pakistan developed these weapons because of its disagreement with India over Cashmere. However just like when the Shaw of Iran was over thrown, we could find ourselves with another militant Islamic country that has the capability to use nuclear weapons. That would cause both Israel and the United States a catastrophic problem smack in the middle of a region that our policies have destabilized by the Iraq War. It would also complicate our operations in Afghanistan to deal with al Qaeda. We better pray that a future assassination attempt is not successful against President Musharraf.