Perry, Pakistan, and the Bush Revival

Dan Grant: Perry meeting with Musharraf is "similar to David Bowie and Bing Crosby meeting to sing 'The Little Drummer Boy': unexpected, odd, and the product isn’t of much value to anyone." (Photo by John Anderson)

Why in the world would Gov. Rick Perry choose to have lunch with exiled Pakistani military dictator Pervez Musharraf? And, just as importantly, why would Musharraf want to meet with the Texas governor? Those are the questions we put to international affairs consultant Dan Grant.

Grant called the meeting "similar to David Bowie and Bing Crosby meeting to sing 'The Little Drummer Boy': unexpected, odd, and the product isn’t of much value to anyone." He added, "One wonders what they talked about: There’s a substantial Pakistani community in Texas, particularly in Houston, so perhaps Musharraf came out of national pride. One of Pakistan’s largest imports is petroleum products, and Texas is swimming in oil and gas – maybe they discussed trade. Or perhaps Perry has a secret passion for cricket."

Joking aside, the obvious reality is that Perry, who has basically zero foreign policy experience, wants to look like a player before primary season. Grant argued that the 2012 presidential election "will overwhelmingly be about unemployment and the economy. But no presidential candidate wants to come across as completely unfamiliar with the world beyond America’s shores."

The Musharraf meeting is part of a bigger push by Perry. The National Review Online reports that he has also started meeting with foreign policy veterans. Unfortunately for anyone concerned about US adventurism, that list includes two members of George W. Bush's team: ex-Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Doug Feith and former National Security Council Senior Director for Defense Policy and Strategy William Luti. Both men were acolytes of Donald Rumsfeld: Luti headed up the Office of Special Plans, whose purpose was to make up find reasons to invade Iraq. As for Feith, General Tommy Franks described him as the "dumbest fucking guy on the planet."

Even the Huey and Dewey of foreign affairs may come with better credentials than Musharraf who is not actually president of Pakistan. That's Asif Ali Zardari. Grant said, "Perry is meeting with the Junior Varsity. He’s unable to meet with the actual leader of Pakistan, so he has to go with the guy who was run out of town.

So it's pretty clear what Perry got out of the meeting (a lot of undiscerning news column inches.) But what was the plus side for the former Pakistani leader? Grant said, "It’s rumored that Musharraf plans to run for the presidency of Pakistan in 2013, but Perry shouldn’t take the meeting as too much of a compliment. Musharraf is simply hedging his bets on who will occupy the Oval Office after 2012. It’s a certainty that Musharraf will meet with Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates, and will try to do the same with Obama administration as well, if they’ll take his calls."