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From Reuters:
Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, aides said.
“The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred,” Bhutto’s lawyer Babar Awan said.
A party security adviser said Bhutto was shot in neck and chest as she got into her vehicle to leave the rally in Rawalpindi near the capital Islamabad. A gunman then blew himself up.
There is no word out of the White House yet, but this is a very delicate situation. It should be interesting to see how they address it. There are already predictions that Musharraf will invoke martial law again.
UPDATE: (Nicole) In addition to Bhutto, snipers fired upon former Pakistani PM (and current candidate) Nawaz Sharif, killing four and wounding 16. Sharif was not harmed in the attack.
UPDATE: (John) He is now boycotting the election.
Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif will lead a boycott of upcoming elections, even though President Pervez Musharraf met a key U.S. and opposition demand Thursday by announcing plans to lift a state of emergency.
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Oh fuck.
Ok, I’ll claim ignorance - but admitting it is half the battle…
How is this a delicate situation? In all honesty - no trolling here
Bud @ 2:
Do you know how WW1 started? ;)
Let’s see big bad Al Queda or Musharraf doing his usual form of democracy.
Hard to pick that one.
Imagine that… king bush and dictator musharraf getting just what they wanted for Christmas. Had to get rid of that complaining about the US tax payers money being used to impose musharrafs dictatorship on the Pakistani people didn’t they.
A “delicate situation”? Well, let’s talk about those nuclear weapons, in a country about to plunged into anarchy…
That might be part of it.
JohnnyThief @ 3:
Yeah… oh.
…
Oh, come on!
This has ISI writen all over it.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but isn’t the ties between the US and Musharref awfully fishy in light of current events. Anyone think our gov’t might have some role in this?
she was a supporter of the US, to my understanding. They were afraid she might lead the US there.. I think that’s why it’s delicate.. there was a situation ‘there’.. but we’re still dealing with iraq…
I think the water is clearing up a bit for me.
http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0907-01.htm
I can understand being disposed of as an opposition leader but I wasn’t completely clear (and still am not) about the Boosh-Musharaff connection. Hmm…
CNN.com has video running of her getting in the car and then again just after the shots are fired into her SUV and then the bomber blew himself up.
Where’s Condi? Was this another development she didn’t give thought to because she didn’t want to creat another “mushroom cloud”?
Bhutto’s supporters are claiming Musharraf had her whacked, and if he’s in cahoots with Bush, that means our POTUS bought off on this…and if he tries to send in troops we don’t have because they’re stretched thin in Iraq…
It was just a matter of time. She risked her life by returning to Pakistan and this is what happened.
Peaceful @ 9:
No. No upside for the US in creating a martyr figure in Pakistan, not even to pump up Musharraf. Bhutto was useful in helping Bushy keep Mushy in line. The “delicate situation” is treading water between Mushy loyalists (stabiility through force) vs. Bhutto’s legion supporters (Bush’s alleged goal of promoting “freedom” and “democracy”)
Oh, great… just what that rat bastard Musharraf needs: another excuse to declare martial law and become a dictator.
Wait… he already is a dictator.
Now I’m starting to think Pakistan is a trial run for Bush in 2008…
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21675162/
There are many similarities between him and Musharaff.
Ugh - where’s the aspirin? Its too early for paranoia.
Bud @ 7:
Bud, you don’t have to say you are claiming ignorance with statements like that. We all know about it!
Coffins draped in flags @ 14:
Which some my say made her a true patriot of her nation. Our leaders can’t even speak honestly about our government unless there is a multi million dollar book deal involved, even then spinning for sales more than truth. You can bet if there was a real threat to their lives they would not show up in public for years.
Musharrif killed her. Bhutto did not support the current US policy. The current US policy is to provide money and military weapons to Musharrif. Bhutto is not Musharrif, and so she is a destabilizing element toward this US/Musharrif agreement.
Peaceful @ 9:
The US was never really trusted in this part of the world. Bush has only made this more so. She maintained close ties to the US (and London) so any affilitation by any world leader with the Toxic Texan would lead to their being overthrown by the people of that country in the next election cycle…or as perhaps in this case, worse.
Case in point look at how many Bush supporters world wide have lost their seats in their country’s election since being affiliated with Bush’s America. And has their been another bombing in Madrid since Spain unhitched their wagon from George Bush’s train? We may never know how many innocent deaths Bush/Cheney are directly or indirectly responsible for but one thing for sure BushCo has made America a pariah in the world.
Peaceful @ 9:
I bet quite a bit on it.
Sweet Christ! Anyone who doesn’t see or understand (or denies!) that this was a clearly sanctioned gov’t hit is either grotesquely naive or an outright imbecile conspiracy theorists be damned!
boom goes london
boom parieee
more room for you
more room for me
Very interesting Bhutto got whacked. Never had democracy there or here.
Listening to the news about home price decline this morning while surfing the Net. All gave me a moment of “Time Scaling” some thing to reflect on, thinking about the past, the present, the future developing my predictions for the New Year.
The old English story about Scrooge and Tiny Tim compares to American stories that we have some in that Classic mold. When it come to Charity our cultural masters in Mainstream Media either bring out short stories like “Saving Youssef “, or, surprise returns of war patriots. It’s pretty obvious, but surprised that this year America was not bomb barded with the Jimmy Stewart movie “It’s a Great Life” that classic Hollywood model in which the citizenry bailed out the failing bank because of the drunken uncle. Or, the Jimmy Stewart one where “Mr. Smith Goes to Congress” love, the part where he blasts through opening those huge doors of the Congressional chamber, what a hoot. Curious we haven’t seen these two on Mainstream Cable. Wonder why? What if we replaced Jimmy Stewart, and gave the part to Barrack Hussein Obama. America would still say is that his screen name, what’s his real name. Obama should play in “Doctor Do Little” and walk around saying “you never have seen anything like it”.
My point in this, big money manipulates Hollywood types, and in the future Americans will examine the Ronald Reagan types and its ambitions in a very different way from today. It’s happening in “Big Screen” for posterity to watch Romney who has that neat postured Ronald Reagan hair cut be called a Phony several time over. Leading history for many, and my new personal conclusion about that era. Many were duped into voting for Ronald Reagan as I was.
Looking back and reflecting on that time one realizes it was a clever mix of the media masters, none of it had any real value, none of it. Especially the immigration policy part totally an open door, rather a door ripped of the latches tossed away buried by mainstream media for decades. Ironically, the same party that loosened the laws of our Republic, ignoring the very foundation which the Republican Party stands for “True Conservatism” which is following the law. Now, absolutely, corrupted and stuffed it with bible laws, parables, duality in meaning, and especially an Executives interpretation of the law. This totally dismisses the judiciary in its fundemental balance. The new “Huckabee” effect. Huckabee conclusions, not the judgments by the justice depart, Bush taught America, who needs that? Guideline by the Constitution, Sheesh that’s just a piece of paper.
That real Compassionate Conservatism. It’s certainly is Compassionate to a most disgusting end.
Americans are having a hard time realizing hype over real value and substance. Even Mainstream Media the imbedded master minds of political manipulation are beginning to realize themselves that they are destroying the very system they want to flourish in.
And, may, while holding their nose unanimously support Hillary Clinton for president. Sean Hannity will likely jump from the top of the Fox News Building to take his life to avoid being humiliated by hiding all of Dick Cheney’s secret classified war documents in his computer. Luckily, though Hannity will survive the fall. Rush Limbaugh will be there to brake his fall, and help him through this difficult period with his private supply of pharmaceuticals. Rush Bow’s Pharmaceutical kit of pain relieve and divine chemistry to get more loans from God.
As for Hillary, after opening up the secrets of the last years of Bush and Company, it may correlate to those ancient curses where one life maybe in danger. Be careful Hillary, they really don’t want anyone to know how America was swindled out of trillions of dollar.
Musharraf will hold onto power at all costs… if he didn’t do this one of his proxies did… and the silence from Bush will be deafening…
natisman @ 18:
uh, yeah… ok. Thanks for the help, sunshine.
Bud @ 11:
Wow, are you kidding or do you just not read? I see that your posting here so you must be some what literate…you should take a minute out and learn what is going on. then it’s OK to come back and play.
Dahgrostab’ph-r-i @ 28:
Hey, I admitted ignorance and I still stand by my comment. I’m still figuring it out.
Right now, Bush is in a national security meeting to decide how to handle the situation.
But first, they have to explain to him who Bhutto is. And where Pakistan is.
So now our current administratian now has another country to go to besides butar/getair/UAE.
I wonder if there is much woodchopping in Pakistan?
It’s too bad though that Muscharrf will get blamed for this bombing when it clearly has the all the earmarks of Bill Clinton.
I would just like to point out that Bhutto was a pretty corrupted lady she and her family stoled a lot of money. So it’s said that she was killed, but there is really no need to make a national hero out of her. She was no saint at all, but the western politicians liked her because she was a secularist.
LakeFX @ 15:
I have to disagree. In the first place you’re right about no upside for the US. But that does NOT equal no upside for bush and the denfense contractor industry. And secondly if bush wanted to keep musharraf “in line” why all the secret untracable millions giving to musharraf then? Why wouldn’t the White House have made that “aid” money accountable and transparent in order to keep musharraf “in line”? That’s where I’m coming from. Musharraf has been propped up for years and the only one doing it was the bush administration.
There is no conspiracy. The United States has a long history of favoring the strong man over a democracy, many cases in South America and Asia prove this. Same thing with Pakistan. Why trust a bunch of different political factions to serve American corporate interests when all we have to do is go through one man named Musharrif? Besides, Musharrif speaks good english.
Musharrif has an alibi in this latest murder: “It wasn’t me, it was the Taleban!”
Who cares if the Taleban is just a paramilitary wing of the Pakistani army? You won’t hear anybody in our media say it. The studio in New York is a long way from Pakistan, and it is a long standing policy of American corporate media to support our governmen’t support of the strong man banana republic.
there was also an attempt on the other former PM Nawaz Sharif……..at the same time….
Just watched Romney speak about the blah blah blah of global terrorism blah blah blah.
I wonder if he though America should have been ‘taken to the woodshed’ by the world when we:
1. Assassignated President Kennedy
2. Murdered Robert Kennedy
3. Got knee-deep into Vietnam
4. Killed the students at Kent State.
Maybe Romney will invade Pakistan and get Bin Laden.
DuepefromPrague @ 32:
Was that really any different though than ear marks and lobby jobs? In the end she was the first female leader of an islamic nation, who maintained strong support from the people and risked her life. Maybe she was corrupt, who really knows. Remember the charges came mostly from the dictator that lead a military coup.
seele @ 34:
You just contradicted yourself buddy.
In other news, I just lost a million dollars because of this. FUCK
Why Are We Allied With A Terrorist?
Pawsie @ 10:
She WAS for democracy,womens rights,fair elections,….and human rights………and more…….but it’s off to work…….try to have a decent day folks…
Rawlpindi/Islamabad is under a curfew right now. Some one I know is stuck at her unversity and can’t get home. Her family is waiting for word that she has gotten to a friends house. The alternative is that she has been arested. It is very tense in many ways right now.
So CNN says the WH won’t even confirm the assasination. No comment coming soon.
Hillary Clinton though will be making a comment shortly regarding the assasination. Again HRC will appear more presidential and react more quickly than the republicans who have to continue to bow to Musharraf.
I thought Iraq has “made the world safer”
mudshark @ 40:
Yes but with all the intrigue of those who kept trying to oust her she could do very little for women’s rights, like repeal the Zinna Hadud laws
actor212 @ 39:
Thank you!
danger @ 38:
It would be a conspiracy if there was some secrecy to the whole operation many cases in South America and Asia prove this is not a secret.