Unrest in Pakistan

Event:
The New York Times reports today that protests are mounting in opposition to the recently-elected Pakistani President Asif Ali Zadari. Protests of similar size and influence greatly contributed to the demise of General Musharraf's regime in 2007.

Why it matters:
From what we know about the foreign policy of the Obama Administration, the war in Afghanistan is being approached not as a unilateral conflict within the country of Afghanistan, but as a conflict existing both in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. In reality, the majority of the conflict occurs on the border shared between the two countries. The Obama administration refuses to deny the role that Pakistan plays in the war because of its potential to cause harm to Americans. As evidenced by the recent protests, the Pakistani government, although generally well-intentioned, is relatively unstable. In the hands of this unstable government are nuclear weapons capable of wreaking havoc on cities all over the world. If protesters were able to overthrow the fragile government, it would leave a country with nuclear weapons and a very stong Al-Qaeda presence without a democratic organizing force. The region would be ruled by whichever force proves to be the most quickly mobilizing and influential, which could be Al-Qaeda, leaving America, Europe, and other places of interest in potentially compromising situations. Your safety and the safety of people all over the world are influenced by these events. Also, if the government were to collapse, NATO and many of its members would be pressured into deploying additional military and diplomatic forces to stabilize the situation.

Ant that is why it matters.

/theGHenius