Saving Musharraf

Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan is to visit Europe this week. I wonder if that is a good idea. At this crucial time perhaps he should stay in charge of the shop. The Islamists were bound to succeed in their assassination attempts on the life of Benizir Bhutto. It wasn't if, but when.

They are equally determined to kill Musharraf. He will live longer if he stays in Pakistan surrounded by his own pretorian guard. From The Sunday Times today:

SPANISH police say they have foiled an attempt by Islamic extremists to carry out bomb attacks coinciding with a state visit to Europe by Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan.

Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, the Spanish interior minister, said that five homes and a mosque in central Barcelona had been raided and a quantity of bomb-making material had been seized, including four detonators. Twelve Pakistanis and two Indians were arrested on Friday.

Rubalcaba said police acted on a tip-off from “another secret service” and discovered that some of those detained were about to purchase explosives.

The arrests were made just days before a visit to Europe this week by Musharraf. He is due to go to France and the UK and attend the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The minister said that he could not reveal more about the police operation which was continuing but the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), the Spanish secret service, had warned at least four other European countries to prepare for “imminent attacks”.

A source at the CNI told El Pais, the Spanish newspaper, that the countries facing the immediate threat were France, Britain and Portugal.

In my view a dictatorship is the only way to keep the Islamists from taking over Pakistan. Another thought; can democracy effectively stop the Islamification of the West? Please discuss.

(cross posted with CommonSense)