View Full Version : Bhutto Assassinated
Team Sergeant
12-27-2007, 08:50
How to keep a country 1500 years behind the rest of the world......
Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Assassinated at Rally in Pakistan
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday, shot in the neck and chest before a homicide bomber blew himself up at a campaign rally. Twenty others also died.
The assassin struck just minutes after Bhutto addressed a rally of thousands of supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. She was shot as she was entering her car. Her attacker then set off his bomb.
Bhutto was rushed to the hospital and taken into emergency surgery.
"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," Sen. Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer, said.
• Bush Administration Condemns Bhutto Assassination
• FOX Facts: Benazir Bhutto
In Washington, deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said: "Certainly, we condemn the attack on this rally. It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy."
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318510,00.html
The Reaper
12-27-2007, 08:54
Heard about it on Fox on the way in this morning.
It would be interesting to know who perpetrated this.
The consequences may be severe.
TR
CPTAUSRET
12-27-2007, 09:45
Not at all surprising; when zealous tribalism, unthinking hatred, and sick fanaticism are your core beliefs!
Tragic timing! One step forward, three steps back!
A lesson in consolidating power. She was the voice of opposition, and now Pervez is needed now more than ever, at least in his eyes.
rubberneck
12-27-2007, 11:25
A lesson in consolidating power. She was the voice of opposition, and now Pervez is needed now more than ever, at least in his eyes.
I'd be very surprised if he or his supporters had anything to do with this. The more likely culprits are people affiliated with AQI and/or the Taliban.
I'd be very surprised if he or his supporters had anything to do with this. The more likely culprits are people affiliated with AQI and/or the Taliban.
Me either. In fact AQ Claims Responsibility (http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=1.0.1710322437).
But for good or for bad, this does consolidate his power since it removes his number 1 opposition, and I wonder:
If Gen. Musharraf cracks down hard on some of the extremists, would it do any good?
RIP
I just read an interesting article, its thrust was the pervasiveness of military control of Pakistan, but it also mentioned recent discussions between Bhutto and Musharraf.
"After Musharraf" article (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200710/musharraf)
frostfire
12-27-2007, 18:33
R.I.P.
One brave lady.
She did request western protection but was not allowed. Makes one wonder
CosaNostraUSMC
12-27-2007, 19:08
Reminds me of the old Sicilian proverb...
"The man who plays alone never loses".
Peregrino
12-27-2007, 21:09
She is a Martyr. To quote one of the talking heads from this morning's Fox broadcast - "I'm amazed it took this long". FWIW - I wouldn't cast stones at Musharaf. He might not have done everything humanly possible to protect her, but he had no motive to kill her and lots of practical/pragmatic reasons for leaving her alone. He's an astute politician, he knew/knows what will happen as a result of this. At this point he has more to lose than anybody else. Al Queda (or whoever) is the only winner; they've percipitated a situation that could easilly destroy Pakistan. I think this will probably destroy any hope of near term peace and stability. Once again, the Islamofascists have set the stage for anarchy. The Pakistani people will be the ultimate victims. Bhutto was NOT a saint, and the party she headed was more populist/socialist than practical/effective. Unfortunately history will probably never conduct an objective review of her life and the very real accomplishments she achieved/represented.
Trip_Wire (RIP)
12-27-2007, 22:16
R.I.P.
One brave lady.
She did request western protection but was not allowed. Makes one wonder
Yes, she was, however, I have some questions.
Western Protection? :confused:
How does the 'West' protect a politician in Pakistan, who attends public events and mixes with the crowds? Who continues to do, so after one suicide bomber attack attempt on her life as well as Intel reports, on many plots in planning. :rolleyes:
Who is this Western power, you refer too, who refused protection? If they had granted such protection, how would they have they provided it? :confused:
frostfire
12-28-2007, 01:22
It was all over the news this afternoon. Pakistani authorities rejected Bhutto's earlier request to include international security experts ie. FBI and Scotland Yard in her protection details
Remington Raidr
12-28-2007, 01:54
She is a Martyr. To quote one of the talking heads from this morning's Fox broadcast - "I'm amazed it took this long". FWIW - I wouldn't cast stones at Musharaf. He might not have done everything humanly possible to protect her, but he had no motive to kill her and lots of practical/pragmatic reasons for leaving her alone. He's an astute politician, he knew/knows what will happen as a result of this. At this point he has more to lose than anybody else. Al Queda (or whoever) is the only winner; they've percipitated a situation that could easilly destroy Pakistan. I think this will probably destroy any hope of near term peace and stability. Once again, the Islamofascists have set the stage for anarchy. The Pakistani people will be the ultimate victims. Bhutto was NOT a saint, and the party she headed was more populist/socialist than practical/effective. Unfortunately history will probably never conduct an objective review of her life and the very real accomplishments she achieved/represented.
India has nukes. Extra butter for my popcorn!:munchin
warrottjr
12-28-2007, 08:48
Bhutto Assasinated
Things could get real ugly, real quick.
Not at all surprising; when zealous tribalism, unthinking hatred, and sick fanaticism are your core beliefs!
Tragic timing! One step forward, three steps back!
My feelings exactly, internal slap in their face.
Trip_Wire (RIP)
12-28-2007, 14:04
It was all over the news this afternoon. Pakistani authorities rejected Bhutto's earlier request to include international security experts ie. FBI and Scotland Yard in her protection details
Hmmm... do you always except what the ‘talking heads,’ say on CNN, as the truth or correct? If so you are in for a shock!
In the scope of the assigned duties of the FBI, dignitary protection isn’t one of them. They don’t do it here in this Country and especially, do not perform such duties in a foreign country for a foreign dignitary.
As a tax payer, I would be very unhappy, if the FBI or another Federal agents were misused in this manor. The exception? Perhaps, the CIA’s agents in a limited role.
The other exception, would be for the Secret Service, to provide training for protective details, of that foreign country and/or assign agents in an advisory training role to that country. (Not to any individual from that country, who isn’t part of that government, nor without the express approval of that government.)
The FBI’s assigned scope of duties is enough too handle, without taking on duties in a foreign Country for one of it’s citizens, especially since they have no expertise in such duties, since the Secret Service handles these duties.
The agency, here in the USA that does handle dignitary protection is the Secret Service. They of course, handle the protection for our President and other selected people in our government as well as foreign heads of State that visit this country. Of course the SS, also provides this coverage for the US people they protect, when visiting foreign countries; not however, for foreign citizens in a foreign country.
The Secret Service. does provide training, when approved for other foreign protective details, normally from friendly countries. Usually, this training is done in this Country.
The US State Department, does provide dignitary protection to some visiting foreign dignitaries not covered by the Secret Service, usually non-heads of State and only here in the USA.
As for Scotland Yard, they do of course have a role in dignitary protection, covering the Royals and the PM of the UK. I seriously doubt, that people from that agency would be used to protect a foreign citizen, in a foreign country who isn’t a part of that countries government and without the approval of that government.
As for who might, from a Western Country might get involved in the protection of a person like Benazir Bhutto, in her country.
Their are many private security firms, that provide dignitary protection to individuals, that have the means to hire them. Many of these firms have former Secret Service, SAS, Scotland Yard operators, etc. These people have the expertise to provide dignitary protection to such individuals for a fee.
Of course, providing security and/or dignitary protection, to any individual, especially in a country like Pakistan is a tough job. The job gets even tougher, when the priceable doesn’t follow your advice and exposes themselves to crowds of people on the streets of a major city.
BTW: I supervised a unit in by LE agency that was involved with dignitary protection and worked with the Secret Service, State Department and other Federal agencies on many Presidential visits, as well as many other details of this sort, so I do have some expertise in dignitary protection.
R.I.P.
One brave lady.
She did request western protection but was not allowed. Makes one wonder
I don't know if I'd call her a brave woman. She was a politician who was corrupt, didn't do much to better the lives of the people who elected her, was an opportunist from the elite of society. I'm sure she evaluated the risk/benefits of returning to Pakistan when seeing an opportunity to get back into power structure.
Her death is a bad thing for Pakistan as she was competition in a country where politicians who can galvanize national opinion don't exist in quantity. She wasn't going to be Pakistan's savior anytime soon (nor is Nawaz Sharif), however, the collective influence of competition tends to better for the market over time. Obviously, AQ/Jihadists thrive in chaos and would stand to lose the most if she managed to plant her flag firmly and align with Musharraf.
Ret10Echo
12-31-2007, 11:00
Maybe it's just the person making the claims that bugs me.....
Pelosi questions Pakistan's Bhutto probe Sat Dec 29, 9:56 PM ET
Washington should address "troubling questions" about Pakistan's probe of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination and its cooperation in fighting terrorism before extending any more aid, House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Saturday.
Pelosi called for an international investigation into the December 27 assassination of Bhutto, which Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's government has blamed on al Qaeda.
Bhutto's party dismissed the government account, saying Musharraf's administration, a close ally in President George W. Bush's war against terrorism, was trying to cover up its failure to protect her.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, said U.S. law made assistance to Pakistan conditional on Islamabad's cooperation in the war against terrorism.
"The refusal by the Musharraf government to accept international assistance with the investigation of the assassination of former Prime Minister Bhutto, and recent reports that previous U.S. aid to Pakistan has been misspent, raise troubling questions about whether those conditions are being met," she said in a statement.
"These questions must be addressed by the Bush administration before any additional U.S. aid is sent to the Musharraf government."
The president had encouraged Musharraf and Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan in October after years of self-imposed exile, to agree on a power-sharing deal in the hopes of stabilizing the nuclear-armed Islamic country.
Bush has urged Pakistanis to honor Bhutto's memory by going ahead with elections set for January 8, but a White House spokesman said on Saturday it was up to the Pakistani authorities to determine the timing.
Pelosi said the Bush administration must "press the Pakistani government to ensure that the coming election is free and fair."
(Reporting by Mohammad Zargham, editing by Todd Eastham)