Andy McCarthy sees through some of the conventional confusion on Pakistan at The Corner: specifically, about Sen. Obama's alleged Bomb Pakistan's Jihadist Regions policy (which McCarthy guesses is completely insincere) and conservative scorn for said policy against "our ally Pakistan," which McCarthy notes is completey inconsistent with anti-jihad doctrine. This is particularly true now that Musharraf is on his way out (thanks to "democracy") and what McCarthy  calls "an amalgam of pro-jihadists and Leftists, united by their mutual legacy of corrupt governance" and willingness to enter into "dialogue" with jihadists is now taking power.

Addressing another Cornerite, McCarthy writes:

What you, Senator McCain, and others who spout this "our ally Pakistan" drivel have to explain is this:  If the rationale for continuing American combat operations in Iraq is, principally, that we cannot allow anti-Western radicals to establish a platform from which they can launch 9/11-style operations, how can we conceivably turn a blind eye to the platform they have in fact established in Pakistan's border region?  Try as it might, international law has not (yet) repealed the sovereign right of self-defense.  We are not required by anything so vapid as "our standing in the world" to tolerate an al Qaedastan in Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, or anyplace else.

If I thought Obama was actually serious, that would be a reason to consider voting for him.  Naturally, he's not serious and he can't square his Pakistan position with Iraq.  But I got news for you:  McCain can't square his Iraq position with Pakistan — I cringe every time he mocks Obama's stance.  What's more, regardless of our "standing in the world," I think the safety of the American people and their actual allies would be greatly enhanced by a very public understanding — such as the one that took hold for about ten minutes after 9/11 — that the United States will not tolerate safe havens from which radical Islam can orchestrate attacks against the West, and that either the host regime does something about it or we will.

Not tolerating safe havens from which jihadists can orchestrate attacks on the West should be Bedrock US Policy--not democracy-building; not "reforming" Islam; not national psycho-analysis of Why They Hate Us. Just self-defense in the name of self-preservation--which happens to dovetail nicely with civilizational-preservation.