Sunday, Dec. 22, 2002

Pervez Musharraf

How's this for a balancing act? In 2002 Pakistan's President cooperated with America's war on terrorism while mollifying his fundamentalist Muslim subjects. He reasserted Pakistan's claims to Kashmir while avoiding an all-out war with India. Washington can only hope the act lasts a long time; if Musharraf were to go, there would always be the chance a hard-line Islamic radical could rule a nuclear-tipped Pakistan.