Democracy in Pakistan is easier said than done

While Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was in Pakistan Tuesday reminding President Gen. Pervez Musharraf of his promise to hold Democratic elections next year, a suicide car bomber attack that killed six soldiers and wounded 10 was a stark demonstration of just how entrenched militants linked to al-Qaida and the Taliban have become.
Rice, speaking for the Bush administration, is right in pushing for democracy in Pakistan, its foremost ally in the war on global terrorism. President Bush has made it clear that the spread of freely elected governments is a key ingredient in his campaign to rid the world of al-Qaida and other global terrorist organizations.
However, Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, has been the target of three assassination attempts because of his crackdown on al-Qaida and the Taliban and is, therefore, reluctant to unconditionally embrace Rice's suggestion. After all, there is no guarantee of trouble-free elections so long as the militants are able to operate with such abandon.
Monday's attack occurred at a military checkpoint in tribal-dominated northwestern Pakistan, where al-Qaida and the Taliban hold sway. As the Associated Press reported, suicide attacks have been rare in that region, where militants have tended to detonate explosives near Pakistani troop positions by remote control or launch ambushes using small-arm fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
"This is not a welcome trend we are starting to see," said Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan.
Dangers
President Musharraf is well aware of the dangers Pakistani forces face in the provinces along the mountainous border with Afghanistan, and knows that Osama bin Laden, the head of al-Qaida who masterminded the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, has a great deal of influence with the Pakistani population in the region.
That is why democracy in Pakistan is easier said than done. So long as bin Laden is alive -- he is said to be holed up in area along the border that is not easily accessible -- free elections in Pakistan are nothing more than wishful thinking.
The Bush administration must realize that bin Laden's success at evading American, Afghanistan and Pakistani troops feeds the perception that he cannot be touched. That emboldens his supporters.
Bin Laden's death or capture is an essential prerequisite for democracy in Pakistan. And that means a recommitment of the all-out military campaign similar to the one the U.S. led against bin Laden and other al-Qaida operatives after coalition forces ousted the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. The mastermind of global terrorism abandoned his training camps in Afghanistan -- he was provided safe haven by the Taliban -- and fled into the mountains. Just as American forces were closing in on him, President Bush ordered a redeployment of troops to Iraq. Bin Laden escaped and now cannot be found.
The democratically elected president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, has criticized Pakistan for not doing enough to go after the terrorists along the border between the two nations. To which the Pakistanis have replied, "Tell us where they are hiding. We promise to investigate and take action."
Now that Secretary of State Rice has issued a challenge to Musharraf with regard to democratic elections next year, the Bush administration should help lay the groundwork by launching a search-and-destroy campaign against bin Laden and his supporters.