Everyone must have heard this news by now, which Lee alluded to, in the previous post.
Benazir Bhutto killed in attack
Benazir Bhutto had been addressing rallies in many parts of Pakistan.
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack.
Ms Bhutto had just addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi when she was shot in the neck by a gunman who then set off a bomb.
The New York Times has a less than flattering obituary of Benazir.
A hat tip to Wizbang classsic...Mark Steyn normally among the more obsequious of the right wing bloggers, submits that this assassination may be partly attributed to Bush's and the State Department doomed strategy of trying to pull strings i.e. a Musharraf/ Bhutto coalition, Musharraf as civilian president and Bhutto as prime minister, with a Washington perspective; the 'best laid plans of mice and men' or in this case women. This in the end, only served to further put at risk the life of Benazir Bhutto, who with very limited security, had to face the wrath of her Islamic fundamentalists, that she was serving the infidel West.
Benazir's political family has been no stranger to tragedy. Only her mother is still alive. Her four children, including Benazir and her husband have now been killed.
Aftermath: Riots are being reported in various cities. Rawalpindi is in chaos.(where Bhutto was killed and where the Army headquarters are located) Cable and cell phone services has been suspended in most of the country. Rumors are flying of curfews. No word from Musharraf, yet . Getty Images' collection of photos taken at the rally by Aamir Qureshi. (Be warned some are very bloody).
Musharraf has since gone on television and made a brief address "This cruelty is the work of those terrorists with whom we are fighting."
Comments (7)
But I thought terrorism was just a fear tactic of Republicans?
1. Posted by andrew | December 27, 2007 2:28 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 14:28
Look at this - what a surprise -- Bush's meddling in the middle east has destabilized Pakistan.
It's time for a new direction, a new idea. The neocon nation-building efforts has made a real mess of things.
andrew -- it is a fear tactic of the Republicans, which they employed once they saw how well terrorists were able to move public opinion in America. The Republicans didn't invent it, they just adopted it from al Qaeda when they figured out it would help them win elections.
2. Posted by Lee Ward | December 27, 2007 2:54 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 14:54
"Look at this - what a surprise -- Bush's meddling in the middle east has destabilized Pakistan."
So the jihadists hate women, democracy, freedom, etc.. because of George Bush. How so? And when has Pakistan ever been stable?
"it is a fear tactic of the Republicans, which they employed once they saw how well terrorists were able to move public opinion in America. The Republicans didn't invent it, they just adopted it from al Qaeda when they figured out it would help them win elections."
Wow, that's just a really deranged worldview. But, it is logical for someone who only cares about power and is indifferent towards the fate of the country.
3. Posted by andrew | December 27, 2007 3:32 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 15:32
Andrew...Not many of us can claim expertise on Pakistan..that seems pretty much the view of the State Department as well....From a June 17 Washington Post article
digby continues the theme quoting from the same article..Pakistan Crisis For Dummies
Musharraf as of September had about a 20% approval rating in Pakistan, before the crisis had deteriorated further. I'm not saying there are any easy answers in that troubled country..I just wish Cheney could go back to Haliburton and take Bush and Condi with him.
4. Posted by Steve Crickmore | December 27, 2007 5:55 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 17:55
"Wow, that's just a really deranged worldview"
It's not a worldview, it is a fact about the party currently occupying the White House.
A handful of terrorists attacked us on 9/11. An appropriate response would have been to eradicate the planet of every shred of that terrorist group.
Instead the political party currently in control of the White House milked the terrorist actions into launching an agenda of ridding an entire region of all 'un-friendly' Islamists, convincing enough of the gullible, thin-witted American populace in the 2004 election that they would be raped in their beds then brutally murdered if a Democrat made it to the White House -- so they could continue their plan for another 4 years.
The people in Iraq did not request to be a democracy, and neither did the people of Pakistan. Bhutto did not have a huge backing among the populace - it was American intervention that got her as far she got.
5. Posted by Lee Ward | December 27, 2007 9:27 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 21:27
Damn, you're even more deranged than I previously thought.
6. Posted by andrew | December 27, 2007 10:23 PM
Posted on December 27, 2007 22:23
It wouldn't be so bad if these damn bedwetting Republicans weren't so frigging incompetent.
7. Posted by Lee Ward | December 28, 2007 2:03 AM
Posted on December 28, 2007 02:03