Musharraf to Resign

Just when things are heating up on one side of the Iranian border, as Russian troops continue their invasion of Georgia, President pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is to step down on Friday, rather than face impeachment.

As bad as this man is, he did provide a modicum of stability in this nuclear armed Islamic country. Not onl is it Islamic, it is a hotbed of radical Islamist activity, and the hinterlands are the base of operations for the Taliban.

As bad as he may be, he did provide a modicum of stability to Pakistan.

What happens next is anyone's guess. Might China decide to slice through the already disputed border at Jammu & Kashmir to get to Iran before Russia does? Despite Pakistan's nuclear arms, it's doubtful that they have the means to deliver their missiles to China's population centers in the far east.
I have argued that China's economy needs oil desperately, and they will not want Putin to get his hands on Iran and thus thorougly control what is essentially the world's oil supply. Moreover, we will have noted the recent terrorist activity of the Muslim Uighur minority in China as the Olympics were getting underway. Pakistan is also a hotbed of radical Islamist activity, and Al Qaeda and the Taliban operate in Pakistan's hinterlands. China could not tolerate a Nuclear armed islamic fundamentalist entity on its western border that will aid and abet the Uighur cause.

Remember the ancient Chinese curse: "may you live in interesting times". And that we do.