As you’ve probably heard through the usual channels, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has resigned in the face of impending impeachment charges. This is the first step, and a good one, toward reforming Pakistan’s political structure, but the security situation in Pakistan is still very dire. You have the Taliban civil war in the tribal regions, ever escalating tensions with their nuclear-armed foe India, and an internal power struggle with their own intelligence services over ties to jihadi groups. But for just a moment, we’re allowed to be at least satisfied that the brutal dictator, whose contemptible negelect led to the assasination of Benazir Bhutto, has finally stepped down.

The story is by now a cliche. For years, the Bush Administration has had a “Musharraf Policy” instead of a Pakistan policy. Even while US troops suffered withering insurgent attacks in Afghanistan, Musharraf was simultaneously cutting deals with the Taliban and American weapons manufacturers. When his power was threatened democratically, Musharraf declared a state of emergency, which Washington backed, and promptly gunned down his detractors in the streets and put his most powerful political opponents under house arrest. Most damning of all, Musharraf refused to give Benazir Bhutto adequate security and protection, all but handing her over to the jihadis for assasination. The fact that these same jihadis are trained and supported by Musharraf’s own intelligence services makes him doubly accountable.

But there is some small justice in this democratic process. Though weak, Pakistan’s parliament is exerting power and control. And best of all, Musharraf is denied the usual pomp and circumstance of a dictator falling. He won’t be made a farsical martyr like the sadist Saddam Hussein, and neither will he be the supernova flame-out of Benazir Bhutto. Instead he will suffer the same humiliating defeat that cruel and lousy democratic leaders have known for a long time: A peaceful transfer of power. No lights, no cameras, just Musharraf and his rotten destroyed reputation all alone to digest. The terrible murder of Bhutto should be enough to haunt his nightmares for years to come, and that’s just the beginning of a long, long rap sheet.

And hey, let’s not forget, the same thing will happen to Bush in just a few short years. That’s something the whole world can celebrate.

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