(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
President Perez Musharraf resigned today after nine years in power. It had come down to "quit or be kicked out."
His popularity had been in decline since March of last year, when his opponents say he misused his constitutional powers by suspending Pakistan's Chief Justice in a bid to run for another five-year term.
He was re-elected president in October. But in February, voters handed an overwhelming victory to his political foes and Musharraf was facing impeachment if he didn't resign. It was a victory for democracy in Pakistan but a potential setback for the war on terror.
President Musharraf has been one of the United States' most important allies in the campaign against al Qaeda in Afghanistan since the 9-11 attacks. For his support, Pakistan was paid more than ten billion dollars. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thanked Musharraf again today, calling him "one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."
But officials in Afghanistan expressed relief, saying Musharraf had been an ally of the United States "in words only, not by actions," and blaming him for Pakistan's failure to crackdown on the growing Taliban insurgency in the tribal border areas.
Even the U.S. has been losing patience with Musharraf of late, recently confronting the new coalition government with CIA evidence that the Pakistani intelligence service helped plan a terror attack against the Indian Embassy in Kabul last month.
But with Musharraf out of the picture, now what?
Here’s my question to you: What does the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf mean for the U.S. and the war on terror?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Abdul from Bahrain writes:
It simply means that Bush's foreign policy towards Pakistan has failed. You can force a dictator to pretend he is on your side against terrorism but you can not force an entire nation to be oppressed by the same dictator. We need partnership with presidents who are friends with their people not with those who are hated by the people.
Dan from Maryland writes:
Can you say trouble? The people of Pakistan and their government are upset with Musharraf, in part, for his work with the US. Do you really think they'll put someone new in power who will be more willing to help?
Sophia from Louisville, Kentucky writes:
Now there can be no question about the military effort we must put forth in Afghanistan. It is time to put up or shut up. We either put enough troops in there or get out completely. This situation was brought about by our failure to commit enough military in Afghanistan immediately following 9/11 because Bush,McCain et.al wanted to go into Iraq in spite of the fact that the available intelligence at the time proved their premise for invading Iraq was wrong .
Spike writes:
Musharraf's resignation doesn't mean anything to Uncle Sam. Musharraf received billions of dollars from Uncle Sam but he didn't deliver as promised. Lets wait and see if the next president will deliver.
Will from San Jose, California writes:
It shows us how pathetic our Congress is. The Pakistani government had a ruler the people no longer accepted and successfully removed him through the direct threat of impeachment. We have a ruler the people no longer accept and our Congress goes on vacation. It's a sad day when Pakistan can teach us lessons about how to run a democracy.