And, yes, I DO take it personally: Two wolves, posing as shepherds, discussing how best to care for the Pakistani flock

John Negroponte and Pervez Musharraf

note: the above photo was taken from musharraf's official website (see screen shot below)... what's really interesting about it is that it's dated september 13 of this year... i couldn't google up anything about THAT visit...

while i knew that bush had sent a "senior envoy" to pakistan to twist pervez' arm, i figured i would eventually find out who he chose to send... today, i find out it was john negroponte... so now i have this virtually unshakeable visual image of two wolves, both dressed in shepherd's clothing and carrying large crooked staffs, discussing how best to care for the flock...

here's how musharraf's website describes negroponte's visit...

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte Saturday called on President General Pervez Musharraf here at his Camp Office and discussed with him regional and international issues of mutual concern. Negroponte also discussed with the President the ongoing fight against terrorism and militancy, re-emphasizing the mutual resolve to combat the menace through joint efforts. They also discussed further bolstering the Pak-US multi-faceted bilateral ties.

here's how the la times reports the visit...

A senior U.S. envoy pressed President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday to lift a harsh emergency decree and move the country toward civilian rule, but the Pakistani leader balked at setting any firm timetables despite the high-level demand from his government's main patron.

Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte reported no breakthroughs in the two-hour meeting, during which he also urged Musharraf to reconcile with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

"There remain serious issues we urge President Musharraf and his government to consider as rapidly as possible," Negroponte told journalists early today.

In the talks, the Pakistani leader reiterated his pledge to hold parliamentary elections in January and step down soon as military chief, Negroponte said. But no date was set for ending the emergency decree, lifting media restrictions or freeing thousands of political prisoners arrested since the emergency rule was imposed two weeks ago.

except for the names, you wouldn't know you were reading about the same visit, now would you...?

and, in case you need a refresher on our fine, upstanding "senior envoy"...

In 1995, The Baltimore Sun published an extensive investigation of U.S. activities in Honduras. Speaking of Negroponte and other senior U.S. officials, an ex-Honduran congressman, Efraín Díaz, was quoted as saying:

Their attitude was one of tolerance and silence. They needed Honduras to loan its territory more than they were concerned about innocent people being killed.

Substantial evidence subsequently emerged to support the contention that Negroponte was aware that serious violations of human rights were carried out by the Honduran government, but despite this did not recommend ending U.S. military aid to the country. Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, on September 14, 2001, as reported in the Congressional Record, aired his suspicions on the occasion of Negroponte's nomination to the position of UN ambassador:

Based upon the Committee's review of State Department and CIA documents, it would seem that Ambassador Negroponte knew far more about government perpetrated human rights abuses than he chose to share with the committee in 1989 or in Embassy contributions at the time to annual State Department Human Rights reports.^[4]

Among other evidence, Dodd cited a cable sent by Negroponte, in 1985, that made it clear that Negroponte was aware of the threat of "future human rights abuses" by "secret operating cells" left over by General Gustavo Álvarez Martinez, the chief of the Honduran armed forces, after he was forcibly removed from his post by fellow military commanders in 1984.

In April 2005, as the Senate confirmation hearings for the National Intelligence post took place, hundreds of documents were released by the State Department in response to a FOIA request by The Washington Post. The documents, cables that Negroponte sent to Washington while serving as ambassador to Honduras, indicated that he played a more active role than previously known in managing US efforts against the leftist Sandinistas. According to the Post, the image of Negroponte that emerges from the cables is that of an

exceptionally energetic, action-oriented ambassador whose anti-communist convictions led him to play down human rights abuses in Honduras, the most reliable U.S. ally in the region. There is little in the documents the State Department has released so far to support his assertion that he used "quiet diplomacy" to persuade the Honduran authorities to investigate the most egregious violations, including the mysterious disappearance of dozens of government opponents.