Bhutto Killed

Reuters Article

Video from before the attack shows her waving from her vehicle surrounded by supporters(and one guy with an exploding vest and a gun hidden somewhere) which seems like pretty terrible security. All-in-all I''d have to say this was a pretty predicable political assassination. So uhhhhhh....now what for Pakistan? I think its really a matter of time until the Jihadists get the bomb.


Edited by rednekk98 - 27 December 2007 at 10:05am

Bound to happen, while she had garnered a lot of support being the main opposition to Musharraf, she was hardly someone that was an "everyman" candidate who would appeal to the masses. The charges of corruption and embezzlement in conjunction with her staunch support of pro-Taliban forces during her first two terms as PM really put her at odds with the non-fundie part of the country. At least she didn't oust Musharraf and then get killed, that would have made the situation a whole lot less stable.

Musharraf needs to get the damned country back into a sense of stability before India gets and itchy trigger finger and decided to take care of any possible problems herself.

Everyone saw this coming, but now all hell is gonna break loose.

 

I see one of two results. Either Musharraf is gonna pull more of the military into the cities, necessarily resulting in strengthening of the Islamists in the northwest, or he'll push hard into the Pashtun regions and take the Islamists on directly. Neither is gonna be pretty.

Pakistan has 180 million angry people in a small country, they're paranoid of their neighbours, they're politically unstable, and they've got nukes... Ugh.

Cedric wrote: Very sad.

I noticed oil speculators are loving this. Now they can have another shot at $100/bbl before the year ends.

carl_the_sniper wrote: So much for democracy...

Do you seriously think that this is the time for this particular nation to go all 1 man 1 vote?

The whole Bhutto issue is small potatoes compared to much larger issue of who, when all is said and done, has access to the military and the nuclear arms that they possess. We, and India, are very very very lucky that Musharraf put someone in charge of the military who is extremely stable and westernized.

As for Bhutto and democracy. You're talking about a woman who openly praised the Taliban government even in their most despotic times, for their rule of Afghanistan. She was a scheister, a fraud, and wanted nothing more than to gain power to further her own bank-roll. Her death is no blow to true democracy. That nation has a long way to go before they can ever embrace democracy as any of us understand it.

tallen702 wrote: carl_the_sniper wrote: So much for democracy... Do you seriously think that this is the time for this particular nation to go all 1 man 1 vote? The whole Bhutto issue is small potatoes compared to much larger issue of who, when all is said and done, has access to the military and the nuclear arms that they possess. We, and India, are very very very lucky that Musharraf put someone in charge of the military who is extremely stable and westernized. As for Bhutto and democracy. You're talking about a woman who openly praised the Taliban government even in their most despotic times, for their rule of Afghanistan. She was a scheister, a fraud, and wanted nothing more than to gain power to further her own bank-roll. Her death is no blow to true democracy. That nation has a long way to go before they can ever embrace democracy as any of us understand it.

 

All of that notwithstanding, Bhutto has still been a figurehead for the democracy movement there, and now that she's a martyr, the ramifications could be very serious. Sharif, the leader of the opposition party, ahs said they will boycott the elections because of her murder. That growth of solidarity amongst the democratic factions will be seen as a threat by Musharraf, the military, and the islamists, and that simply cannot end well. Musharraf may feel forced into courses of actions taht will further alienate Pakistan from the Commonwealth and other western nations, and may also play into the hands of the islamists regardless of how he responds. There is of course a risk of severe open violence, and even a fringe possibility of open revolt  by a significant portion of the population.

 

Pakistan is an inherently unstable country, and this can only serve to make it worse. It's very much in the interests of the western world to offer guidance and a helping hand to settle the country down. Instability is a fertile breeding ground for extremism, and there's already enough of that over there.

rednekk98 wrote: tallen702 wrote: carl_the_sniper wrote: So much for democracy... Do you seriously think? Fixed.

HAHAHAHA

Everyone see what he did there!?!?!?!

That was good.

He burned me bad!

brihard wrote: All of that notwithstanding, Bhutto has still been a figurehead for the democracy movement there, and now that she's a martyr, the ramifications could be very serious. Sharif, the leader of the opposition party, ahs said they will boycott the elections because of her murder. That growth of solidarity amongst the democratic factions will be seen as a threat by Musharraf, the military, and the islamists, and that simply cannot end well. Musharraf may feel forced into courses of actions taht will further alienate Pakistan from the Commonwealth and other western nations, and may also play into the hands of the islamists regardless of how he responds. There is of course a risk of severe open violence, and even a fringe possibility of open revolt by a significant portion of the population. Here's the thing, as much as Musharraf didn't want to lose power, he doesn't want the country to play into the hands of the extremists. Either way, he loses. I think he'd much rather have seen Bhutto in power than to have to deal with extremists. Of course, the whole situation could simply fall right into his lap now. Should some hapless idiot students decide to revolt, they'll do so in the opposition party's name whether Sharif wants them to or not and he'll be able to declare a state of civil war and go about his merry way of not only wiping the opposition off the face of the planet, but pushing the extremists to the brink of extinction as well. I think, however, that would be a last resort for him. Boycotting the elections is the stupidest thing that the opposition party can do at this point. The martyrdom of Bhutto easily solidifies their rather fractured organization and would give them a better chance at being voted into power. Kinda makes you wonder if she wasn't just a sacrifice for the opposition. Too bad the assassin blew himself up and no one is claiming responsibility. We may never know the real reasons behind the attack. [quote] Pakistan is an inherently unstable country, and this can only serve to make it worse. It's very much in the interests of the western world to offer guidance and a helping hand to settle the country down. Instability is a fertile breeding ground for extremism, and there's already enough of that over there.

While instability is a breeding ground for extremism, we can't afford to do anything right now other than condemn the death of a democratic leader and state that we will assist Pakistan should the country ask for our help in any way. Offering guidance suggests that we're trying to tell them what to do. With the US's image in the dump as far as most islamic states are concerned, offering guidance or suggesting anything right now would only be the equivalent of us poking our fingers into a fresh wound. The trick here is to say a lot without speaking a word. Allow the democratic process to continue and show no outward signs of trying to control or guide the situation.

Ticalxx421 wrote: carl_the_sniper wrote: rednekk98 wrote: tallen702 wrote: carl_the_sniper wrote: So much for democracy... Do you seriously think? Fixed. HAHAHAHA Everyone see what he did there!?!?!?! That was good. He burned me bad! I'd say ( and I'm not being sarcastic)

Well you have the wit of a 7 year old so i'm not surprised.