Benazir Bhutto?

[Gail]

Any thoughts on this assassination?

[Stan]

wasn't me. I have an alibi.

[Morning Glory]

I am in shock.......I wasn't aware of her exact beliefs or political position, but I got the impression that she had the best interests of her people and the world in mind. I felt for her during her years of house arrest and the time that she had to spend away from her homeland due to the political situation. That must have been very difficult for her. And, for her to get this close to becoming a true leader in her country to be mowed down is just gut wrenching.

Pakistan is such a politically volitale country anyway.....I fear there will be a lot of unrest in that area, escalating from the "usual" amount. It could be very dangerous for the country AND the world community in general.

Well, my 2 cents worth....coming from a non-political person.

Morning Glory

[Dr. Shane]

I believed she had already served as Pakistan's prime minister. She was riding in a bullet-proof car and stuck her head out of the sun roof.

[carolaa]

My boss is from Pakistan, and he has filled me in on his perspective. When Bhutto was PM previously, her reign was extremely corrupt. Many Pakistanis believe that Bhutto herself orchestrated the attack on her that happened shortly after she arrived back in Pakistan. Even though Musharraf is a dictator, the country has had more stability under him than at any time in its history. Musharraf is kind of between a rock and a hard place. The U.S. is paying him to keep the fanatics reined in, but there are those in his own country who are against him because they claim he is in bed with the Americans. He is also feeling U.S. pressure (at least officially) to promote democracy more. Never mind that democracy only works when the citizens are educated, which most Pakistanis are not. So he's really walking a tightrope. At any rate, my boss feels that most Pakistanis will not be shedding many tears over Bhutto, regardless of what the major U.S. news networks are showing.

[Jeannieb43]

I get that same impression, from what I've read.

Not that Benazir Bhutto was bad, but that whoever is the prime minister in Pakistan, makes very little actual difference to the U.S. politics or to the world as a whole, for that matter.

Another forum I read said we should all go see "Charlie Wilson's War" for an explanation of the situation in Pakistan.

Well, I don't see many movies, and I have no idea what we're supposed to learn from Charlie Wilson's War. So please take this with a grain or two of salt.

[Nan]

I lived in Pakistan over 30 years ago, when Benazir's father was prime minister. That regime was corrupt, there were tales that they rigged the ballots in one election so thoroughly that more votes were counted than there were registered voters. 18 years ago we were visiting Karachi at the time Benazir was having one of her children, she chose to deliver in one of the local hospitals rather than anywhere else. I read the book she wrote at about that time, and the time of her imprisonment and house arrest must have been very difficult.

But I have spoken to Pakistanis living here and basically heard the same story as Carolaa has told. A taxi driver said how much better the trains and buses were during the current regime than when Benazir was prime minister.

I guess according to what she has known she was acting in the way she thought best. My impression was that her return to the country would only bring more bloodshed but I guess that is a risk she was willing to take.

I am not at all convinced that the ideal of Western democracy is necessarily the best form of government for all countries.

Just my $0.02 - and like Stan I am sure I will be able to get an alibi if required.

[Neil D]

I want to say something about this...but I am afraid that what ever I say, would be wrong....

What the man on the streets of Pakistan sees appears totally different than the one that the media is giving out.

I hate it when political figures are killed/martyred/assinated. Because their past is glossed over, giving a lopsided viewpoint of thier history.

I also hate these suicide bombers or apparent suicide bombers...this is just not rational to do...

[carolaa]

I agree with everything you said. However, for those of a certain worldview, suicide bombing does seem rational when you believe you will be greatly rewarded in the afterlife. It's so sad.

[carolaa]

I'm replying to my own message now, but I just wanted to add they they believe not only in rewards for the afterlife, but also their family will get rewards in this life after they die. So there is a payoff in their minds.

[Amelia]

U.S. brokered Bhutto’s return to Pakistan

Secret diplomacy yielded deal seen as only way to save ally against terror

Washington Post

Thurs., Dec. 27, 2007

For Benazir Bhutto, the decision to return to Pakistan was sealed during a telephone call from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just a week before Bhutto flew home in October. The call culminated more than a year of secret diplomacy — and came only when it became clear that the heir to Pakistan's most powerful political dynasty was the only one who could bail out Washington's key ally in the battle against terrorism.

It was a stunning turnaround for Bhutto, a former prime minister who was forced from power in 1996 amid corruption charges. She was suddenly visiting with top State Department officials, dining with U.N. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and conferring with members of the National Security Council. As President Pervez Musharraf's political future began to unravel this year, Bhutto became the only politician who might help keep him in power.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22414361/

[Gerr]

You might want to read the article in the current Time magazine about her. The writer claims she was part of the problem, not part of the solution. According to the article (and I've read something similar in other publications yrs ago), that her gov't was just as corrupt as any. Her husband has been charged with bilking the gov't over a billion dollars and transferred it to a Swiss bank.

Gerry

[Amelia]

Right Gerry. But apparently the USA decided that she was the lesser evil and she was willing to adopt some U.S. outlined policies.

[carolaa]

The U.S. is not concerned with who is the lesser evil, only with who is able to give us what we want.