Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

[Unklemonkey]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071227/ap_ ... s/pakistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also killed at least 20 others, aides said.
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Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.

The death of the charismatic 54-year-old former prime minister threw the campaign for the Jan. 8 parliamentary elections into chaos and created fears of mass protests and violence across the nuclear-armed nation, an important U.S. ally in the war on terrorism.

Musharraf convened an emergency meeting with his senior staff where they were expected to discuss whether to postpone the election, an official at the Interior Ministry said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

No one claimed responsibility for the killing. But suspicion was likely to fall on resurgent Islamic militants linked to al Qaida and the Taliban who hated Bhutto for her close ties to the Americans and support for the war on terrorism. A local Taliban leader reportedly threatened to greet Bhutto's return to the country from exile in October with suicide bombings.

The attacker struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, 8 miles south of Islamabad. She was shot in the neck and chest by the attacker, who then blew himself up, said Rehman Malik, Bhutto's security adviser.

Sardar Qamar Hayyat, a leader from Bhutto's party, said he was standing about 10 yard away from Benazir Bhutto's vehicle at the time of the attack.

"She was inside the vehicle and was coming out from the gate after addressing the rally when some of the youths started chanting slogans in her favor. Then I saw a smiling Bhutto emerging from the vehicle's roof and responding to their slogans," he said.

"Then I saw a thin, young man jumping toward her vehicle from the back and opening fire. Moments later, I saw her speeding vehicle going away," he added.

Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery. She died about an hour after the attack.

"At 6:16 p.m., she expired," said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Bhutto's party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital.

"The surgeons confirmed that she has been martyred," Bhutto's lawyer Babar Awan said.

Bhutto's supporters at the hospital exploded in anger, smashing the glass door at the main entrance of the emergency unit. Others burst into tears. One man with a flag of Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party tied around his head was beating his chest.

"I saw her with my own eyes sitting in a vehicle after addressing the rally. Then, I heard an explosion," Tahir Mahmood, 55, said sobbing. "I am in shock. I cannot believe that she is dead."

Really sad, took a lot of guts to go back there like she did, but still hard to say you didn't see it coming. Sad thing is, her death will probably spark more change than her getting elected would have.

[kuronosan]

Bhutto was a good thing.
Stupid people always ruin good things.

[Zosi]

What a horrible thing to happen.

[CMMeast]

Bhutto was a good thing.
Stupid people always ruin good things.

You're kidding right? Bhutto was a horrible leader, not much better than Musharraf. Just because she looked like a great alternative to the current power holder doesn't mean she'd make things significantly better in Pakistan.

[blister1]

Reports seemed mixed up, BBC claims someone jumped out from the crowd and opened fire and the car rushed away. CNN mentioned something along the lines of her being shot and a guy on a motorcycle then blowing himself up. Either way, I feel sorry for the people who can't get out of that area as shit is about to hit the fan.

[Mizango]

Yeah I saw this as soon as I woke up this morning. I'm sure it was not Political related or done intentionally by Pervez Musharraf seeing as how she had enemies, even in the time that she was allowed back into the country. I am not a fanboy of Musharraf or anything, but I think the shit storm and fall out from something like this would greatly outweigh the benefits. But then again who knows, you cant put anything past anyone anymore. Since coming back from exile I knew that she was the target of death threats and assassination plots.

Still a fucked up situation to say the least. This thread needs more Firas, Id like to hear someone that knows first hand the impact this has on the Middle east and the current situation there in relation to this.

[kuronosan]

Bhutto was a good thing.
Stupid people always ruin good things.

You're kidding right? Bhutto was a horrible leader, not much better than Musharraf. Just because she looked like a great alternative to the current power holder doesn't mean she'd make things significantly better in Pakistan.

Never said she was a good leader.

[Tricen]

Bhutto was a good thing.
Stupid people always ruin good things.

You're kidding right? Bhutto was a horrible leader, not much better than Musharraf. Just because she looked like a great alternative to the current power holder doesn't mean she'd make things significantly better in Pakistan.

Never said she was a good leader.

What you said was a little misleading. Apparently she is a good thing. She is also a leader. 2+2= CHAIR

[Correction]

Her story reminds me of Eva Peron; more celebrity than actual leadership.

[kuronosan]

Whether someone brings stability to a country or not has nothing to do with their quality of leadership.

Bush is a terrible leader, but he does do a few good things. Saddam was a terrible person, but a good leader.

Your logic is horrible.

[Olo401]

Bush is a terrible leader, but he does do a few good things.

umm.. wut?

[Mysterio]

posting in a thread that's about to get ugly.

[rezn0r]

http://www.prettyhate.net/avatars/avatar_wtf.jpg

[Mizango]

Brian Peppers ftw.


Ex-Prime minister Bhutto to Brian Peppers. Oh how we've digressed.

[Kuya]

Whether someone brings stability to a country or not has nothing to do with their quality of leadership.

Bush is a terrible leader, but he does do a few good things. Saddam was a terrible person, but a good leader.

Your logic is horrible.

Sooo subjective. And FYI, a good leader has alot to do with a country having its stability, more so in a country with a lesser degree of subdivided powers.

[Xavier]

I woke up this morning, went downstairs to get a cup of coffee, and heard her name mentioned on the TV in the background. Then I heard them say she was assassinated, and I started to get afraid. I actually shed a tear after I heard the full story, not because I was particularly close (or whatever) to Bhutto, but because of what it means for the country and the world as a whole.

Bhutto herself had a checkered past, but her recent activity has focused on strengthening democracy in the country, and for that, a great leader has been lost. It was her potential in the future, to weaken the military rule, to open the country up, etc, that should be especially mourned. This assassination has the potential (and potential is a fairly weak word, since it most likely WILL) to further destabilize the country, which was already struggling to handle insurgent terrorists in the region. With her death, those who followed her will be absolutely enraged, leading to further civil unrest and chaos.

I'm really interested to see what is going to happen to Musharraf now, and what choices he ultimately makes. He was losing popularity fairly quickly, and his scrutiny is only going to rise with her assassination. There is nothing worse than making angry men angrier.

The most troubling part of all of this is the instability in a country with nuclear arms, and what would happen if the Musharraf government was actually toppled in the civil unrest.
_________________________________________

I was going to make a thread about this when I first heard about it this morning, but I didn't think many people on these forums would care about the implications, or take it very serious.

[evilbau]

I'm with ya, xavier.

The thing I'm most worried about is that with this assassination, the decoupling of Musharraf with the military is even less likely than it already was. Having the military separate itself from the leadership is an important step towards stability. Musharraf has us by the balls somewhat and can do as he pleases. Bhutto was no saint, but still, Pakistan needs another strong reformer to step up. Change needs to come about internally, and I'll be anxiously awaiting what happens next.

Edit: Totally agree also that few (on this forum probably) will care or knows the situation. It is something people should learn about and be aware of, imo.

[Weeks]

Bhutto's actions were seemingly at odds with the perception of her as a strong democratic reformer, and whether she could have done any good for Pakistan is a question that will never be settled now. The fact that her supporters immediately placed the blame on Musharraf is a very ominous sign. The hope in the west was that by reaching out to Bhutto and Sharif, he was attempting to ally the competing factions against Islamic militants in the country, marginalizing them politically. Whether he had any real intention of doing this or not is very much in doubt, but this destroys any hope of that being accomplished any time in the near future.

[Venture]

Took longer then expected for someone to kill her. I didn't give her a week after her return from exile. That she lived so long during all the turmoil was either testament to good security, or just timing on waiting for a relatively quieter period so not to make it look like killing her was one of Musharaf's ideas to remove a rival.

[*Shinzon*]

As for the reports, whatever is said, this is the most realistic conclusion. She was heading out the door and into her car. Reports say that the suicide bomber was heard AFTER she was shot, but in reality it was probably a diversion designed to panic the crowd and free a chance for a close range shot, anything that says something about a sniper is probably very wrong or there would have been no need for the suicide bomb.

Anyway, what a 'leader' does in the past necessarily make them a good or bad leader. It just lets you knows what decisions were made in their past. A person can also be a good 'leader' and not make good decisions. Leading people does not actually equate to good decision making. She was attempting to provide balance to a country where the military and the politicians are clashing in a power struggle, trying to establish a better democracy and remove power from the military.

Obviously, not only was this probably influenced by the military, who can probably control Musharraf, but it provides fuel for the extremist to use if not directly planned by members of extremist factions. Also alluded to in Xavier's post, this will probably send a shock wave of poor decisions to be made in fear.

On a separate note I'm sure though this'll make Hilliary or Obama think twice about going anywhere near this situation. Both of them are stupid if they think attempts on their lives wont be made at one point, not to say they shouldn't try, but they need to not be naive about the situation. Assassinations are real ladies and gents.