145;Bush must not ally with tyrants146;

8216;8216;If Mr Bush is not careful, Washington will be mopping up for years from the inevitable foreign policy disasters that come of befriending autocrats who maintain a stranglehold on their own people,8217;8217; it said.

8216;8216;General Musharraf, the Saudis and other autocratic allies like President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt rule repressive societies that become a breeding ground for anti-American hostility.8217;8217;

When Washington preaches democracy while tolerating the tyranny of allies, America looks double-faced, the daily said. 8216;8216;That8217;s certainly the unflattering picture the world sees today,8217;8217; it stressed.

The daily conceded that when unsavoury governments control strategic locations or resources, the impulse to join hands with them can be 8216;8216;irresistible8217;8217;.

8216;8216;But there is a difference between making alliances of convenience and uncritically working with dictators.8217;8217;