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India-Pakistan
Benazir Bhutto Dead
2007-12-27
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto had been critically injured after a suicide attack at a political rally in Pakistan. She had been undergoing emergency surgery at a nearby hospital.
Posted by:doc

#29  RANTBURG > IS TATER CLEANING HOUSE [Sadr in Iran?]?

HMMMMMM, RIAN [Russia] > FUTURE FOR RUSSIA Report > already reported on alleged assassination scenario vv PUTIN in Jan 2008; + ditto for MOUD as per his recent UN/Columbia University visit, ZARQ?, now BENAZIR???
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2007-12-27 23:39  

#28  I was the one who yesterday wondered why Bhutto was still alive. I had nothing against her & certainly was not rooting for her assassination. It was just a matter of observation & knowledge of recent history -- Pakistan is a failed state. An attempt was made on her life as soon as she returned there some weeks ago. Nothing could be more un-Islamic than a woman leading the country. Pakistan will go from bad to worse, as it has for its entire history.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418   2007-12-27 20:04  

#27  At least 20 vehicles were torched in the central Sindh town of Hyderabad.
That's just step one in the Islamic healing process, which is intended to bring about "closure"
Should be interesting to see what the next steps are going to be.
Posted by: tipper   2007-12-27 16:12  

#26  The MQM is powerful in Sindh, and they have long advocated banning Jamaat-i-Islami, which is the largest Islamofascist group in Pakistan. The JI is a jihad organization, posing as a political group. However, Bhutto's PPP has strong support in the Punjab, and this could lead to attacks on the JI, and that would be good. The MMA - which was dominated by the JI - only received 10% of votes in the last general election in Pakistan. If the public turned against them, then the state would have a free hand and suppressing terrorist elements.
Posted by: McZoid   2007-12-27 15:49  

#25  yeah, thats got to scare the Punjabi dominated military.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 15:18  

#24  yeah, thats got to scare the Punjabi dominated military.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 15:18  

#23  LH: At least 20 vehicles were torched in the central Sindh town of Hyderabad.

She was Sindhi, so her ethnic compatriots are likely to be out in full force.
Posted by: Zhang Fei   2007-12-27 14:48  

#22  At least 20 vehicles were torched in the central Sindh town of Hyderabad.
They have a long way to go to catch up with France.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-12-27 14:16  

#21  update

Reports said security was deteriorating in Karachi, where thousands poured on to the streets to protest. At least three banks, a government office and a post office were set on fire, a witness said.

Tires were set on fire on many roads, and shooting and stone-throwing was reported in many places. Most shops and markets in the city shut down.

At least 20 vehicles were torched in the central Sindh town of Hyderabad.

There were also small protests in Rawalpindi and the nearby capital, Islamabad.

Protesters blocked roads with burning tyres and chanted slogans against President Pervez Musharraf in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistani Kashmir in the mountainous north.

Police said they had been ordered to block the main road between Punjab province and Sindh province, apparently to stop the movement of protesters.

Disturbances were also reported in the southeastern city of Multan, although details were sketchy. In the eastern city of Lahore, Bhutto party workers burnt three buses and damaged several other vehicles, police said.

Trouble was reported from the interior of Sindh province, including the Bhutto ancestral home at Larkana, police said.

"The situation is not good in the interior of Sindh. A large number of people have come out on the roads in many cities to protest," said senior police official Fayyaz Leghari.

Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 14:12  

#20  "Liberalhawk, I disagree on the unpopularity of Perv. Have there been demonstrtions? Sure but they were small"

The ones going on every day were small. There were larger ones from time to time. Brutally suppressed. And IIUC lots of folks who werent brave enough to protest, supported the protesters.


"and highly organized by Bhutto."

Havent heard that at all. The protests were led by Paki lawyers who werent all that close to Bhutto.

"Th thuggery going on now seem small scale as well: Small fire, broken glass, but very few killings. They haven't attacked Perv or his supporters"

Well they dont KNOW it was Perv as did this, now do they?
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 14:01  

#19  Liberalhawk, I disagree on the unpopularity of Perv. Have there been demonstrtions? Sure but they were small and highly organized by Bhutto. Th thuggery going on now seem small scale as well: Small fire, broken glass, but very few killings. They haven't attacked Perv or his supporters.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2007-12-27 13:21  

#18  A sampling of the comments at Arianna Huff-n-puff's blog.
she died for the sins of republicans everywhere
We all know Bush ordered the CIA to do it and the moderate democrats (righties) allowed it. Bush knows that we need Pakistan to fall in order to attack Iran. Pakistan is the only middle eastern muslim nation with nukes. If we take them down from the inside, we are free and clear to attack Iran for their oil.

I wore my haz-mat suit and have been thouroughly de-loused.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2007-12-27 12:55  

#17  So, it seems to me that we are getting closer to having to implement our Plan™ for securing Pak Nukes. I hope that we are ready as Pakistan slides into anarchy and then into an Islamist state. That will keep the US occupied and Iran can go about its business more easily, as the spotlight will be off Dinnerjacket.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2007-12-27 11:51  

#16  To me that is like saying it was either the Gestapo or the SD or the Abwehr.

Gestapo = Geheime Staat Polizei (internal matters

SD = SS security service.

Abwehr = German spy agency was lead by Admiral Canaris who advised Franco agsint joining Germany and later took part into the 20th July plot.

Better find a better analogy like KGB and GRU
Posted by: JFM   2007-12-27 11:47  

#15  no cyber, Perv pushed out Sharif, Bhutto had been pushed out in a prior coup.

As for the corruption, it was a few million, chicken feed, not on a scale like a Mobuto. She was taking a little baksheesh on govt purchase of military hardware and stuff, and it wasnt bad stuff.

It was a big issue in the 90s, but from everything Ive read it wasnt that big an issue anymore.

As for Perv, ANYONE was a threat to Perv, hes very unpopular.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 11:26  

#14  You can eliminate Perv because if he wanted to shut her up he would have arrested her LOOOONG ago.

But her return to form a Bhutto-Musharref coalition government was openly pushed by President Bush, Cyber Sarge. How could he then have her arrested? I agree with your last comment, though.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-12-27 11:08  

#13  You have to remember that Perv threw her out of office (behind MASSIVE popular support). She was not as popular and definately not some messiah like she is painted. She was a manipulative, corrupt, and greedy political hack. There was a LONG line of people that wanted her below ground and truth be told she wasn't much of a political threat to Perv.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2007-12-27 10:29  

#12  from the ABC news account,

"..."The man first fired at Bhutto's vehicle. She ducked and then he blew himself up," said police officer Mohammad Shahid."

ironic name for the police officer
Posted by: mhw   2007-12-27 10:07  

#11  as for corruption, Sharif was just as corrupt, but more popular. At this point, Perv firing judges to keep himself in office was considered a more serious kind of corruption than skimming a few Rupees.
Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 09:43  

#10   "nobody seriously believes that the ISI does suicide bombing. "

I dont think anyones suggesting that an ISI man martyred himself. Rather it might be that the ISI worked with Islamists.

Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 09:42  

#9  The Bhutto party will blame Perv at first (as well as blaming America and maybe even England, France and Israel) but most of the country distrusts the Bhutto party and with good reason because its corrupt. In fact I wouldn't be surprized if people in the Bhutto organization were taking money from Al Q to provide intel to the terrorists.

Regarding the 'who done it', nobody seriously believes that the ISI does suicide bombing.

Posted by: mhw   2007-12-27 09:30  

#8  Very predictable. She and her entourage did not take her security very seriously. It seemed like she believed in defying the Islamofacists and counting on the love of the people. Just looking at the press service video, her security kept a very low profile. In Paki-waki land that gets you a hole facing Mecca.

Make no mistake this is a real bad for all Pakistanis.
Posted by: TomAnon   2007-12-27 09:28  

#7  I don't make much distinction between those three groups. To me that is like saying it was either the Gestapo or the SD or the Abwehr.
Posted by: Excalibur   2007-12-27 09:12  

#6  But if ISI was involved, that still begs the question if it was elements hostile to Perv, or under the control of Perv. And Perv has been insisting, in public, that ISI is under control (Well, he has to, but it still doenst help now to have said that)

I dont think Perv will last.



Posted by: Liberalhawk   2007-12-27 09:09  

#5  Only question is whether it was al-Qaeda, one of the Taliban groups, or ISI. My first guess would be al-Q, but it could be any one of them, or all three in concert.
Posted by: Fred   2007-12-27 08:56  

#4  I don't think Perv can be ruled out. There was heavy government involvement in the first suicide bombing on her arrival. Street lights were cut out and a traffic jam was arranged to bottle up the procession at th point of the first bombing. This time it was both an assassination squad and bomber working together. After she was hit, they could not rush her to the hospital for 30 minutes. Enough time for her to bleed out. That takes a lot of "security" looking the other way for that to happen.

MSNBC
A party security adviser said Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle, then the gunman blew himself up.
Posted by: ed   2007-12-27 08:55  

#3  Definitely the Islamofascists. IIRC, they tried blowing her up when she arrived in-country.
Posted by: Mike   2007-12-27 08:36  

#2  You can eliminate Perv because if he wanted to shut her up he would have arrested her LOOOONG ago. My bet is on Islamo Facists.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge   2007-12-27 08:32  

#1  Just yesterday someone on here was commenting they where surprised that she wasn't dead yet. kinda eary isn't it
Posted by: sinse   2007-12-27 08:29  

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