TEHRAN An uncertain future is anticipated for U.S.-backed dictators who have set up unpopular governments throughout the world.

The United States is now battling public opinion as it wages war on defenseless Afghan civilians. In light of the growing anti-U.S. sentiment, the governments that took power with U.S. assistance, and that continue to rely on White House support, are now in real danger.

If the United States doesn't manage to end this military game soon, its followers will also have problems justifying their legitimacy. Worldwide protests show that people, entire nations in fact, are fully aware of what has been transpiring between dominant world leaders and their beneficiaries. They believe that now is the time to declare their animosity towards United States and its puppet governments.

A Pakistani army commander, Qazi Hussein Ahmed, called for the overthrow of General Pervez Musharraf's government. He said its helping the United States in attacking Afghanistan endangered Pakistan's national interests.

Hussein Ahmed addressed a crowd of thousands in Karachi, stating that Musharraf must be ousted in the same way former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and his government was toppled.

He then added that if Musharraf doesn't step down, millions of Pakistanis would pour into Islamabad and remove him from power.

The days of other American-linked dictators are also numbered and a similar fate almost certainly awaits them.