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Article: Death of a friend. (Mohammed Zia ul-Haq)
- Article from:
- National Review
- Article date:
- September 16, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1988 National Review, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DEATH OF A FRIEND WHEN I INTERVIEWED President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan in January, he told me proudly, "From the USSR to Vietnam, only one country stands up to the Soviets: Pakistan. Pakistan will never become a drop in the Red Ocean."
What he should have said is that Pakistan would resist Soviet expansionism--as long as he was alive. Zia understood Soviet aspirations and probably gave his life in the fight he undertook--to drive the Soviets out of Afghanistan and to keep that country, and his own, free from Soviet domination. He was the linchpin both for the covert war against the Soviets in Afghanistan waged by the U.S., China, and Saudi Arabia, and for ...