Ignorance Knows No Bounds

Hullabaloo notes something that was lost in the, um, hullabaloo over Newsweek:

ISLAMABAD: A cartoon in The Washington Times lampooning Pakistan's role in the US war on terror has turned into a rallying point for nationalist passions and hidden anti-American sentiments here.

The "offensive" cartoon (published May 6) shows a US soldier patting a dog (Pakistan) that holds Abu Faraj Al Libbi (a terrorist linked with Al Qaeda) and saying, "Good boy ... now let's go find bin Laden."...

For Muhammad Ali, a student of Quaid-e-Azam University, the cartoon belittles Pakistan' anti-terror efforts and exposes how much the US values Pakistan's role in the war in terror.

Many students of this university are so sore with the US "assault on national pride" that they will settle for nothing less than an apology from US President George Bush.

Two things--first, like Digby, I don't recall any outrage, nor do I remember Scott McClellan sternly telling the brass at the Washington Times to don their collective hairshirts and adopt a penitent's gait.

At the same time, I'm aware that Pakistan's "support" for the GWOT is, well, nuanced. This is due to myriad reasons, including the unpleasant fact that lunatic Islamic fundamentalism has more than a toehold in the country (IIRC, we exploited this in ancient times, i.e., the 1980's...wingnuts seem to have a fuzzy understanding of the era, being blinded by the Reagan light). However, despite Pakistan's less than enthusiastic support, they--along with other stellar exemplars of human rights like Uzbekistan, have been chosen by Cap'n Crunch Bush to be on the team...I think, to paraphrase Rumsfeld, you take the allies you have...

Still, once chosen, proffering insults isn't exactly the equivalent of a pep talk. And likening an entire country to a dog, particularly a Muslim country, literally REEKS of ignorance.

But, as they say, IOKIYAR.