BlogHer - Benazir Bhutto Killed Today in Pakistan - Comments

Excellent point

Kim Pearson — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:26:07 -0600

Now, more than ever, we need for cooler heads to prevail.

Kim
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It's over a year

Virginia DeBolt — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:58:40 -0600

before any of the current candidates will be doing anything about Pakistan. If things escalate there and the nuclear word starts getting thrown around, what's the guy we have in charge right now going to do? That's the thing I'm worried about.

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Sad but not surprised

snigdhasen — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:10:34 -0600

I was shocked when I heard the news, more so because I was hoping it wouldn't happen. I am not surprised, though. Pakistanis, including Bhutto, were aware of this possibility. She has been attacked before and such threats are for real.

Bhutto was "perceived" as the only major political leader capable of challenging despotic rule and introducing democracy. She had the numbers, the stature. And she has made known her intentions of establishing democracy louder now than ever before.
Knowing a bit about politics in the sub-continent, I wouldn't dare say she would be tremendously successful in curbing Pakistan's immediate challenge of radicalism, but she was their strongest hope for a return to democracy. Indeed, she too wouldn't have a choice but to stick to a clean democracy, what with the entire world watching.
Well, naturally, she had to go. Sigh :(

Snigdha

Romney's statement raised questions for me

Kim Pearson — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:05:02 -0600

I wondered how much Romney knew about Bhutto or Pakistan when I listened to his statement. It was so general -- "this loss of life" -- and so boilerplate. As crucial as Pakistan is to global security, it would be a disservice if the analysis and commentary on this tragic development ignored the historical and political context in which the conflict in Pakistan is unfolding. This event underscores the importance of electing a President who is sure-footed on foreign policy, and who can go beyond the superficial rhetoric of the War on Terror.

Kim
BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

American presidential candidates

Maria Niles — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:49:08 -0600

I'm with you Lisa - I'd like to see how they respond. So far I've seen Clinton's and Obama's preambles to stump speeches which told me little beyond democracy is good and they grieve for the children and supporters. I've heard an interview with Giuliani and seen parts of his statement. I've seen a snippet of Romney's statement (at least I hope it was a snippet and not the majority of it) and both to me could be summed up as "this shows we need more military action against the Islamic fascist terrorists."

The only candidate so far who has impressed me by demonstrating a nuanced understanding of the situation and the potential next steps is Chris Dodd. It's early still so I am hopeful.

On a related note, Zbigniew Brzezinski who has endorsed and advises Obama has also impressed me with his commentary so I count it as a vote for judgment vs. experience. I don't believe anyone has the experience to be president until they are president and all presidents rely on advisers and apply their judgment to that advice so I think who the candidates choose to advise them is as important as their experience.

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Bhutto Left the Safety of Dubai to Fight 4 Democracy in Pakistan

Jody DeVere -- Ask Patty — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:18:19 -0600

I was visiting Dubai the week she left after an eight year exile to go back to Pakistan knowing her life was at great risk. She was quoted saying she had hoped to work towards civilian rule in Pakistan, but didn't know how she could work with Gen. Musharraf's government, as "it is very difficult to work with a dictator."

I am very saddened this brave woman has been killed attempting to help heal her country.

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"You can kill a man, but not an idea."

Lisa Stone — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:02:00 -0600

Tragic. My favorite Bhutto quote:

"You can imprison a man, but not an idea. You can exile a man, but not an idea. You can kill a man, but not an idea."
Bhutto, Benazir Prime minister of Pakistan (1953–2007)

Source: Learning to Give

Thanks Laina for this breaking news. Agreed Morra -- I'm a rank beginner when it comes to Pakistani politics and don't fully appreciate Bhutto's legacy. I'd love to hear from some readers who do.

That said, I would like to see how American presidential candidates respond to her assassination. I'd like to see the kind of states(wo)manlike behavior from a few people who want my vote to lead U.S. policy in the Middle East. Here's a great blog reaction round-up from The Times

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It's very scary

Morra Aarons Mele — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:39:49 -0600

Bhutto had her demons, but it seems she was the best hope for a somewhat democratic rule in Pakistan.

Now it's left to the military dictatorship of Musharraf to fight it out with Islamist forces, from Talkingpointsmemo's piece :

The most likely culprit is the Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaeda. But it's not exactly an event met with tears by the Pakistani military, which thoroughly controls the government and the economy. After the summer's turbulence with Islamic radicals and Pervez Musharraf's subsequent declaration of martial law -- designed to crack down not on Islamist militants but the remnants of Pakistan's democratic opposition -- the U.S. prevailed upon Musharraf to ally with Bhutto in the interest of broadening Musharraf's base of support. But the event that would consummate the alliance, next month's election, represented a threat to continued military rule. "The military didn't really want civilian politicians in power," says New York University's Barnett Rubin, a South Asia expert. "They wanted to use them to legitimate indirect [military] rule, and they were going to do it by rigging the election."

U.S. strategy didn't exactly find that so offensive. "The idea was to consolidate the alliance of the so-called moderate forces in the Pakistani military through this election that the military was going to rig but we were going to certify anyway," Rubin observes. That is, as long as Bhutto was in the picture -- since the U.S. had reduced the democratic opposition to the figure of Benazir Bhutto, although her corruption as PM was manifest. Without Bhutto, it is unclear what the U.S. will do.

Benazir Bhutto Killed Today in Pakistan

lainad — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:26:53 -0600

After leaving a political rally in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the former minister of Pakistan was getting into her vehicle when she was shot in the neck and chest by a lone gunman. The gunman then blew himself up, killing at least 20 people. (Update: there has been some confusion surrounding whether she was fatally injured from a gun or shrapnel from the bomber).

She was rushed to the nearest hospital and her husband initially gave a press release, stating that she was in critical condition. Within the hour, it was announced that she had succumbed to her injuries, most likely the neck wound, which was described as ‘severe.’

The rally was Bhutto’s first campaign since returning to Pakistan two month’s ago from London, England and was preparing for the January 8 elections in a three-way race between Bhutto, another former minister, Nawaz Sharif, and a party that backs the current president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf. An earlier rally was cancelled on the advice of Musharraf, who warned Bhutto and her supporters that despite increased security, it was too dangerous. The upcoming elections are focused towards provincial parliaments and for a National Assembly, which means that a new prime minister and a government will be elected.

Bhutto, 54, was well known for a number of issues, most importantly, her desire to rid the country of extremism and terrorism groups, which garnered her large group of supporters among both the civilians in Pakistan and expatriates around the world. First elected in 1988, she was the first female prime minister in the Muslim world. She was later deposed in 1990, re-elected in 1993 but forced to leave her position in 1996 amidst rumors of corruption. In 1999, she went into exile, moving to London, where she lived with her family until deciding to go back to Pakistan to improve the conditions of the citizens of Pakistan and to help eradicate the violence.

This was not the first time that Bhutto had faced assassination attempts. Sources say that recently al-Qaida, the Taliban and Pakistani jihadi groups had sent suicide bombers to kill her. Both her father, former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and her two brothers have been killed.

While I’m not too familiar about the Heritage Foundation, check out Lisa Curtis’s study, Pakistan: Defense and Security Challenges for an analysis on what is currently happening in Pakistan. Churmuri has a round up of what bloggers are saying as of 10:00am (Pacific).

As the news broke about 2 hours ago, stay tuned for more information.