Benazir Bhutto assassinated

[Park Kraken]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071227/ts_nm/pakistan_bhutto_dc_17;_ylt=AowvmZLeaAvPqkfTb4_07Gb 9xg8F

I am unsure of how to respond to the news of her death. On one hand, it could be very bad if Al-Qaida militants gain a foothold in the Pakistani goverment, a country that has possession of excellent long range missiles that are able to carry nuclear warheads, which Pakistan does have.

On the other hand, it could unite the peope of Pakistan against Al-Qaida. Depending on the next United States president, and how the situation goes in Pakistan, I feel that this incident could possibly either lead to a civil war, or to another United States invasion.

Either way, this may not have come about if the U.S. hadn't taken the pressure off of Afghanistan to focus on Iraq.

[Rutabaga]

To me, this is a sad day for Pakistan, and for the world. I admired Benazir Bhutto, I thought she was a very intelligent and brave woman. In some ways, news of her assassination was not a total shock, but it still has left me feeling very sad and discouraged.

[General Dan]

Sounds very convenient for General Musharraf and his regime. A little too convenient.

[Jeseth Cloak]

Sounds very convenient for General Musharraf and his regime. A little too convenient.
I agree, and thought the same thing when I first heard of this.

[Jedi Master Carr]

Well it could be any number of several groups. Everybody is blaming Al Quadi and Musharif right now, but it could be some of the home grown nuts who have hated her for years, most notably the free Kashmir people. The situation could be a mess hopefully something good comes out this.

[Figrin D'an]

I don't buy into Musharraf having anything to do with Bhutto's death. Bhutto had been very vocal in her opposition to extremism and the senseless violence carried out by groups like the Taliban and Al Qaida, and those groups and their supporters saw her and her secular political party as a threat.

Bhutto did reportedly feel that Musharraf's government was not doing enough to provide additional security for her since her return from exile, and one can certainly make an argument supporting this given the suicide bombing in October that targeted her and the lack of significant security changes since that time. However, I doubt Musharraf was involved in this. This reeks of Al Qaida to be honest.

[Jedi Master Carr]

I don't buy into Musharraf having anything to do with Bhutto's death. Bhutto had been very vocal in her opposition to extremism and the senseless violence carried out by groups like the Taliban and Al Qaida, and those groups and their supporters saw her and her secular political party as a threat.

Bhutto did reportedly feel that Musharraf's government was not doing enough to provide additional security for her since her return from exile, and one can certainly make an argument supporting this given the suicide bombing in October that targeted her and the lack of significant security changes since that time. However, I doubt Musharraf was involved in this. This reeks of Al Qaida to be honest.

I think it is either Al Qada or one of those Kashmir groups. I do think they did a poor job of protecting her.

[Eluna Thals]

Well she had enemies practically everywhere in Pakistan, so each of the suspects are rather plausible. I just think it's a good idea to watch the regime like a hawk in the next few weeks, because if there's any political capital to spend from this, Musharraf will do it sooner rather than later.

[Park Kraken]

Well she had enemies practically everywhere in Pakistan, so each of the suspects are rather plausible. I just think it's a good idea to watch the regime like a hawk in the next few weeks, because if there's any political capital to spend from this, Musharraf will do it sooner rather than later.


When people blame Musharraf for this, I tend to think of elimination of a rival being the motivation. I didn't even consider the possibility of Musharraf dliberatly using Bhutto as a sacrafice to try and rally the common people against the threat the insurgents are posing, but that is one thing that could certainly happen as a result of this assassination. It would certainly explain the lack security protection.

[Hartus Kenobi]

All signs seem to point to an anti-Al Qaeda AND anti-US Pakistan (although remaining a strategic ally with the US against Al Qaeda). Which we should just settle for, because it's better than nothing. Pakistan will probably remain pretty stable, and pressing too hard on the nation might screw things up. Sending in US troops would be madness.

[Parsideon Denix]

Nobody's discussing US troop intervention, I don't think. Aside from the impossibilities of doing such against a nuclear power, I think Bush is content to ride Musharraf's coattails and keep pretending that he's a part of his war on terror. It will never happen.

[Park Kraken]

In a follow up story, Al-Qaida officially denies involvement in the Bhutto assassination, while Bhutto's aides are accusing Musharraf's goverment of a cover-up.

[Yog]

I'm with Charley here. Right now, Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world to be a secular politician, especially a high profile one as Bhutto. On one end, we have various islam militant and extremist political groups. On the other end we have a regime that came to power through a military coup, and just a few weeks ago declared a state of emergency. And that is BEFORE we begin to consider Al Qaeda and Taliban. Bhutto knew the risks when she returned, and this is not the first time there have been attempts on her life:


En route to a rally in Karachi on October 18, 2007, two explosions occurred shortly after Bhutto had landed and left Jinnah International Airport. She was not injured but the explosions, later found to be a suicide-bomb attack, killed 136 people and injured at least 450. The dead included at least 50 of the security guards from her PPP who had formed a human chain around her truck to keep potential bombers away, as well as 6 police officers. A number of senior officials were injured. Bhutto was escorted unharmed from the scene.[68]

Bhutto later claimed that she had warned the Pakistani government that suicide bomb squads would target her upon her return to Pakistan and that the government had failed to act. She was careful not to blame Pervez Musharraf for the attacks, accusing instead "certain individuals [within the government] who abuse their positions, who abuse their powers" to advance the cause of Islamic militants. Shortly after the attempt on her life, Bhutto wrote a letter to Musharraf naming four persons whom she suspected of carrying out the attack. Those named included Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, a rival PML-Q politician and chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, Hamid Gul, former director of the Inter-Services Intelligence, and Ijaz Shah, the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, another of the country’s intelligence agencies. All those named are close associates of General Musharraf. Bhutto has a long history of accusing parts of the government, particularly Pakistan’s premier military intelligence agencies, of working against her and her party because they oppose her liberal, secular agenda. Bhutto claimed that the ISI has for decades backed militant Islamic groups in Kashmir and in Afghanistan.[68]

There are discrepancies between the accounts published in western newspapers, Pakistani tabloids, and eye witness accounts of the assassination attempt. Bhutto's husband categorically refused to accept that the suicide bombing was an attack by al-Qaeda or the Taliban. Correspondingly, Pakistani Taliban leader Mehsud denied responsibility and Jamaat Islami, an opponent of Bhutto, announced a three days mourning period for the dead.

Bhutto's associates describe an initial small grenade attack, followed twenty seconds later by larger explosives, one right and and one left of the truck carrying Bhutto; this was followed by a brief burst of gun fire directed at vehicle's roof. The PPP sources claim that yet another non-exploded bomb was fixed on a bridge which the vehicle had already crossed[citation needed].

Some witnesses report there was a sizzling sound, apparently an underground wire signal for the explosive devices. Bhutto escaped, as she was protected by a 30-inch (760 mm) tall bullet-proof lining on the top of the truck and was reportedly descending into the vehicle's interior at the time; hence neither shrapnel nor bullets killed her. She was also protected by a "human cordon" of supporters who had anticipated suicide attacks and formed a chain around her to prevent potential bombers from getting near her. The total number of injured, according to PPP sources, stood at 1000, with at least 160 dead (The New York Times claims 134 dead and about 450 injured). The PPP lodged a complaint and FIR in protest, but was cautious in laying blame.[citation needed]

A few days later, Bhutto's lawyer Senator Farooq H. Naik said he received a letter threatening to kill his client. The letter also claims to have links with al-Qaeda and followers of Osama bin Laden.

Bhutto was well aware of the risk to her own life that might result from here return from exile to campaign for the leadership position. In an interview on 28 September 2007 with reporter Wolf Blitzer of CNN, she readily admitted the possibility of attack on herself.[69]

Bhutto sent an email to CNN claiming people around Musharraf wanted her dead: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iYpPF7nuX0aoW0cZkd8nUZXvZdmAD8TQK9501

Even a rival of Bhutto is laying blame on the government:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/29/world/asia/29cnd-pakistan.html?hp

[Hartus Kenobi]

Well, in terms of absolute numbers, I'm sure there were many people within the Musharraf government that wanted to assassinate Bhutto, but there were many many more people outside the Musharraf government that would've liked to see her dead. The question is: who succeeded?

The only relevant question for us is what would the role of an external power be? And as far as I can tell, it would be to let things play out naturally with little additional interference/intervention.

[Parsideon Denix]

In a follow up story, Al-Qaida officially denies involvement in the Bhutto assassination, while Bhutto's aides are accusing Musharraf's goverment of a cover-up.

Why would they claim it? If we assume they actually did it, it's more beneficial for them to say they didn't, and cast suspicion on the Musharraf regime. Even though Musharraf's response to al Qaeda has been lukewarm and lackadaisical, he's still been an annoyance to them and they could do far better with a man in charge who's more favorable to the Taliban and the Waziristani tribes, etc.

That's the rub here. Although I suspect Musharraf more than the other parties, there is a lot of reason to suspect everyone else as well.

[Jedi Master Carr]

That is the problem there are a lot of suspects. As for Pakistan, I disagree with people like Richardson who says we should ask Musharraf' to resign. We should put pressure on him more so than anything else. Sending troops in would be madness unless the country falls into anarachy or something.