I am still proudly amazed that President Bush visted our ally Pakistan to show support, at no small personal risk to himself:

Beyond that, it was critical to maintain good relations with a country, however problematic, that is at the center of the battle against terrorism. “It was the proper call and a gutsy one,” said Strobe Talbott, who was Mr. Clinton’s deputy secretary of state.

Reporters were not told that Mr. Bush would be spending the night in Pakistan until 24 hours before, which was the same day that a suicide bombing in Karachi killed an American diplomat. In Islamabad, Air Force One arrived and departed in the dark, with its running lights off and shades drawn, so that it would be less of a target for a missile attack. Once the president was on the tarmac, it was impossible to tell whether he got into a waiting motorcade — or slipped into a Blackhawk helicopter for the trip to the fortresslike American embassy, with the motorcade speeding below as a decoy.

Either way, the route of the motorcade was the site of two of four assassination attempts on Mr. Musharraf, hardly a comfort to the Secret Service. In December 2003, a large bomb detonated on a bridge 30 seconds after Mr. Musharraf’s motorcade passed. Eleven days later on the same route, two suicide bombers plowed their cars into the motorcade, killing 15 people and cracking Mr. Musharraf’s windshield.

Sort of a humbling act, especially if one is skittish about Arab Businessman. That is what sets this President apart. He puts his safety on the line for what he believes in.

Addendum: Pakistan is an imperfect ally in an imperfect region. As with The UAE, Pakistan is not a perfect fit with our dream ally. But we cannot afford to lose this ally. People who are looking for perfection in our allies are ignoring the real issue, losing imperfect allies to create the perfect enemies. Pakistan and The UAE would make formidable enemies if they are forced, through our own stupidity, to align with Al Qaeda. The UAE has immense wealth and withholdings and infrastructure (not to mention a number of our own F-16’s). Pakistan is a member of nations who possess nuclear weapons.

We need to continuously stand by these allies so they migrate closer and closer to our way of seeing the world. But anyone who thinks we can afford to reject them because they are not sufficiently like us right now must have a death wish. I am not so much worried where they are now, it is more important to know where they are heading and if we are helping to point them in the right or wrong direction.

Update:

Captain Ed Morrissey points out that new Canadian PM Stephan Harper is also a man of courage and conviction as he visits his fellow Canadians in Afghanistan.