Short Notes on Bhutto
BBC: Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has ordered firm action to crack down on unrest following the death of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. Mr Musharraf said looters "must be dealt with firmly and all measures be taken to ensure [the] safety and security of the people". Some 38 people have died in violence that has broken out since Ms Bhutto was assassinated on Thursday.
Meanwhile, her party has rejected the government's explanation of her death. A government spokesman said her head was slammed against her vehicle by the force of a bomb - but colleagues said she died from bullet wounds. CONTINUED
Man, what a week to pick for a holiday!
In fact, I was further caught off guard when I learned about the assassination hours after the fact. The Hummingbird and I went to dinner with my brother Winter and his new wife C-Chan, and he asked me over a beer, "so, what do you think of Bhutto?"
I replied, "eh... well-educated, but with the sickly sweet smell of corruption?"
Winter made a surprised face, "no... I mean about her assassination?"
I returned, "her assassination? Meh, I think Musharraf's going to get waxed first."
"But she was assassinated today! Didn't you know?"
I think MOGS and Antitool will agree that there's nothing worse that can happen to an analyst than not knowing about a major geopolitical event. I grabbed my arm rests and extolled, "what! Today? And I didn't know about it!? I... I am ashamed" (Yes, said just like Jacques the Shrimp in Finding Nemo).
But in truth, I agree with most of the analysis I've seen so far across the wires. I'm still surprised it was her before Musharraf, but I'm not surprised she was killed.
Hopefully she understood the risks when she stuck her head outside her bulletproof car.
On one hand it's a damn tragedy, especially when you roll in the entire up and down tapestry of the Bhutto family. But on the other... wasn't she removed from office twice for corruption? Of course, I'd take her on office over Nawaz Sharif any day, but in martyrdom I think people are forgetting her "other" legacy.
Regardless, we still have a nuclear power in flames this evening, which I suppose overshadows Mrs. Bhutto's late strengths and shortcomings.
I'll be curious to see how her son and husband step up over the next few days.
Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Is It Just Me?, Rosemary's Thoughts, Right Truth, Adam's Blog, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, The Pink Flamingo, Cao's Blog, and Big Dog's Weblog, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
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Ok, here's my take on it. How Bhutto died is not nearly as relevant as who killed her, the Pakistan People's Party has that part right. At this point, we can only speculate as to who did this. It's hard to find a party that would benefit from this.
What the party DID screw up, however, was anointing Bhutto's 19-year old son, a student at Oxford, as her successor. So now we have yet another Muslim political figure in effective exile in England, "staying abreast" of problems at home. (Just like, say Nouri al-Maliki.) Way to be a leader. Seeing this snot-nosed kid talk stridently about "democracy" was pretty ironic. Democracy means many things to many people, but primogeniture is NOT one of them.
Musharraf may be an SOB, but like Tacho Somoza, at least he's our SOB.
Posted by: antitool | 31 December 2007 at 14:02
It will be interesting to see what happens in Pakistan this new year.
By the way, did you know that pigeon smuggling is now the rage? Blue Crab Boulevard has the scoop!
Posted by: Tom | 01 January 2008 at 16:49
I think Musharraf had his people do it. He has the most to gain.
Posted by: Amal | 01 January 2008 at 22:41