The Fence Solution

Hasn't anyone told Pervez Musharraf that this idea won't work?

UNITED NATIONS — Chafing under criticism that Pakistan is not doing enough to counter terrorism, President Pervez Musharraf offered Monday to construct a security fence to deter incursion of militants and drug merchants from Afghanistan.

Musharraf made the offer at a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that was expanded to 75 minutes from the 30 minutes originally planned. It sets the stage for President Bush's meeting with the Pakistani leader on Tuesday.

"We don't ever want anybody to say Pakistan is not doing enough," Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri said. The minister said he was "fed up" over such allegations.

Declining to say whether Rice expressed support for the idea, Kasuri said "she heard us out" and was "very appreciative" of Pakistan's desire to help stop infiltration from both sides of the border with Afghanistan.

If anyone seriously thinks that Jihad Joe is any less able to swim, run, or jump than "undocumented" (illegal) Hispanic immigrants to America, they're kidding themselves. I appreciate Musharraf's initiative, and acknowledge that he's been a powerhouse against terror; in fact, he's put people like Jacques "Can't Attend the U.N. Summit" Chirac and Gerhard "I'm Going to Lose" Schroeder to shame.

If Musharraf's goal is to take a real step to fight terrorism, he should put troops on the Afghan/Pakistan border, and consolidate Pakistani control of Waziristan.