St. Patrick of Middlesex was “live” on CNN International Wednesday. Sen. Leahy of Vermont chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee that handles money for our “ally” Pakistan. Ah, yes – Pakistan! That’s where President Pervez Musharraf has put the uniform back on and is playing Ol’ Gen. Musharraf, suspended the judiciary and declared a “state of emergency.”
But he’s got a little problem named “Patrick J. Leahy.”
Leahy: I still think we should move to cut off the aid unless they restore democracy. When you remove the courts – by definition – you do not have a democracy. Unless you have a free judiciary, you don’t have a democracy. I’ve talked to a lot of senators, both Republicans and Democrats who are just outraged with what their seeing on television – lawyers being arrested, members of the judiciary being set aside. The reaction against Ge. Musharraf is very, very strong here.
CNN: What are you going to do about it? Are you going to cut off aid? Can you force anything to happen?
Leahy: I think there’s going to be a very strong effort in Congress to cut off aid unless there are changes and I’ve talked to the State Department and told them that message has to go out, otherwise I will be one to make efforts to cut off that aid.
Got something to say?
Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!
