Nice to see the WaPo point out what I think is going dangerously overlooked during this financial meltdown. Pakistan stands on the verge of becoming the next failed state. Musharraf was a Faustian bargain at best, but like Hussein in Iraq, he was the only plausible option for stability. The problem in both cases--like so many others--stems from wealthy nations propping up bad leaders until the point of no return, then arguing that those leaders are a necessary evil.

As with the US (and rapidly, global) financial meltdown, it seems the only road remaining to stability is to take our lumps and fix the rules so it doesn't happen again. Worse, I see no signs of material improvements to any rules that will prevent a recurrence.