While Bhutto was in office her husband became known as Mr. Ten Percent. He took ten percent more or less from every foreign contract, every foreign assistance package, and took about ten percent from just about every Pakistani business or concern outbound as well.

I could be wrong, it could be more.

When Benazir turned the Pakistani education system over to the Saudi Arabians she pocketed the Pakistani education funds. But she was pretty, so she was good.

Things are going to get nasty over there.

This “retirement deal” will buy, for a short while, a bit more loyalty of the Pakistani officer corps for the Gilani government. It hasn’t been noticed too much here in the States, but the Pakistani’s have become more active in the tribal areas hunting down foreign fighters and Taliban remnants. Only the professionalism of the Pakistani officer corps is enabling this for the moment. For the most part, when the politicians get in the way, the officer corps goes back to the barracks.

As for the back hand “not surprisingly, since the leadership had been all Musharraf’s men.” This is only partially true, and easy for misinterpretation. Musharaff was very forward leaning in rooting out sinecures, and placing professionally trained officers in posititons of responsbility during and since his active Army days. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, for example, an American Command and general Staff College graduate, now the Chief of Staff of the Pakistani Armed Forces, is but one of the large number of new officers Musharaff appointed. This is a good thing for Pakistan.