"The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" (apologies to Jimmy Breslin) - everything these dumfucks have laid their hands on for the past six and a half years has gotten people killed unnecessarily.
...wholesale emptying of the government treasury of billions and rampant corruption ... would have pulled barely 20% of the vote.
No wonder Bush wanted to get her in, she seemed to be W's soul mate
Muslims Against Sharia condemn the murderers responsible for the assassination of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and her supporters.
Our prayers are with the victims of this atrocity. We send our condolences to their loved ones.
May the homicide bomber rote in hell for eternity. May his accomplices join him soon!
http://muslimsagainstsharia.blogspot.com/2007/12/
prime-minister-benazir-bhutto-murdered.html
With this being one of the very few useful items I have read about BB over the last couple of days, I wonder if someone at GNB could point us to some other reading about the recent and even decades old history of Pakistan.
Yes, I do know why and how Pakistan was formed, and given that prologue the present is not surprising.
Maybe you, HS, can provide a few hundred more words of clarity about the present state of the Pakistani Republic, as murky as it is right now. Thank you for addressing this topic clearly and as I have come to expect at this location, truthfully.
The closest American analogy I could give to the return of Benazir Bhutto to Pakistan to stand for election, and her resulting fate, would be something like this...
LBJ goes on national TV, after the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, after the debacle in Chicago, after Nixon's election, in 1970. He declares the Vietnam War and the Paris peace talks a failure and makes clear his intent to help end the war and bring the troops home as soon as possible.
He declares his intent to do a series of speaking engagements across the nation to put forward his case. The word goes out that he's considering a run for 1972, even with his ailing heart, and that this is a test run at both gauging both his popularity, given his change in attitude, and his fundraising capabilities.
And LBJ is assassinated, under murky circumstances, after a speaking engagement at West Point.
They both knew corruption and power, they both wanted something better for their homelands, and they both sacrificed themselves, each in their own way, because the latter finally became more important than the former.
The elites within Pakistan can't, to this day, discuss with any candor the deaths of Zia-ul-Haq, of Bhutto's father, or the fate of any number of prominent people within the government or of the opposition over the last 35 years.
As we feared Communism in the 1960s and were willing to do anything to stop it, even continue in a war that had minimal grassroots support within Vietnam itself, the Pakistani elites, especially their military and intelligence service, the ISI, were determined to gain advantage over India, with each loss driving them to more desperate measures. Acquiring nuclear weapons, I believe, was one result of this line of thought. So was assuming that a new front could be gained through supporting the Muhajadeen and later the Taliban in Afghanistan, given that the then-king of the nation, and the Soviet-led regime later on, had no desire to work with the Pakistani government.
The Pakistani military and most especially the ISI must feel right now like a quote of LBJ's about his involvement in the Vietnam War - "I feel like a hitchhiker on a Texas highway in the middle of a hailstorm; I can't run, I can't hide, and I can't make it go away."
And the world, this time, may have to pay the price for the next move.
My two bits...
This is all bullshit. Bush had as much to do with Bhutto's death as did Ted Kennedy with Mary Jo Kopechne's.
Well...that wasn't the best of analogies, now was it?
Bhutto's now a martyr, and due...72 Virgins.
Any...suggestions...for her first virgin?
;D
Bhutto's now a martyr, and due...72 Virgins.
Any...suggestions...for her first virgin?
;D
serr8d
LOL!!! Howsabout you for starters serr8d? Stopped by your, er - uh, blog I guess you'd call it. From what I read (yurrch - threw up in my mouth a little, 'scuse) buddy, you can't have ever gotten even a whiff of pussy in your life.
How many have to die before someone says, "Stop. Enough."? No Bush, didn't personally pull the trigger. But what was his advice to a murderous dictator? Take off your uniform. What's his response to this tragedy? Send in the military. I'm surprised he didn't send in Blackwater. Them being such tough guys and all. Maybe they could kill off a few unarmed civilians. That had nothing to do with Bhutto's death. Now that's democracy for ya.
Re: Mary Jo Kopechne. There's a journalist that has been extremely critical of the Kennedy's over the years. I watched the documentary. He is not, and has never been a fan of the family. He has reported on their excess over the years. Even he doesn't think Ted Kennedy killed Mary Jo. He thinks it was a disastrous attempt to cover up an affair.
Oh for goodness sakes.
This is not bush's or his cabinet's fault.
This woman was supposed to go in, campaign, and get enough votes to matter. Then she was supposed to be offered a position by the general in his cabinet, and then the newspapers around the world were supposed to say "Democracy!(tm)" in Pakistan. That was the US regime's plan.
Alas, the general does not want to share. Hence the attempted assassination of Nawaz Sharif, which failed to kill him (he was the PM ousted by the general's coup d'etat). 4 of Sharif's supporters died from sniper fire. And hence the death of Bhutto, who died from 3 different causes already; one of them was "she hit her head on the ceiling." Who says Pakistanis don't have a sense of humor?
Like I said, the general does not want to share.
Now Bhutto (RIP) was looked in Washington and power elite circles almost like a western agent of influence; which was a foolish view, really, but we are not dealing with the sharpest tools in the shed here...
So now we have the general large and in charge, with no one to share power with. The people in the cities will be beaten by police goons, the crazy fanatical Pashtuns in the tribal areas will be bought off by the general (like always) and some of them shipped to fight in Kashmir.
This is definitely NOT what bush's puppet masters intended.
I like the pairing of Bhutto and Chalabi. WAHOO, THAT WOULDA BEEN A CREW THE CHENEY GANG COULDA LOVED!
LOL!!! Howsabout you for starters serr8d? Stopped by your, er - uh, blog I guess you'd call it. From what I read (yurrch - threw up in my mouth a little, 'scuse) buddy, you can't have ever gotten even a whiff of pussy in your life.
I just gave the place a once over. OMG. I should have listened to you, drbopperthp. Big BIG mistake.
DO NOT go there just before eating. Verb sap.
The Reverse Midas Touch will be researched for years after the Present Resident leaves office. Is there anything this man has done that has not turned to shit?
Worst. President. Ever.
americangoy, of course its not what they intended. they're fucking idiots.
I am not sure that one can blame Bush for this. She was her own actor, a masterful politician, a corrupt hack boss a la Jersey City in the 1920s, but with the demeanor of a Harvard sociology professor. Huckabee was wrong to apologize for her death and Bush would be wrong, in my view, to do likewise.
It's possible that I am wrong, of course, and those who think I have missed the point should not be shy.
I'm not sure that you are wrong, Bruce. Two words:
Benigno Aquino
Why in the hell did she go back?
She had stolen enough money to live a good life somewhere else.
Did she want a crack at all of the billions we're handing out?
People do strange things when they're obsessed by power.
Why did Saddam wait around to be captured when he could easily have fled the country?
Why does Hillary kiss Republican ass? She can neither hope to capture any votes from the Unreachable 27%, nor get any compromise from the Repukes that they'll honor.
Why did John McCain prostitute himself? He's not going to get fundie votes no matter how many times he's photographed embracing Jerry Falwell.
Lust for power is a very slippery slope. Among the rocks at the bottom are obsession, madness, and ruin.
Stopped by your, er - uh, blog I guess you'd call it. From what I read (yurrch - threw up in my mouth a little, 'scuse) buddy, you can't have ever gotten even a whiff of pussy in your life....boppertop, Stormblow
That's right, stay here in your BDS hate-house, built by one who knew how to hate.
Maybe that's why your bloggod Steve was so roundly renounced after his death...he too balled his hate up and left nothing else for people to find. Just loose clumps of regurgitated detestable malevolence. If he's so good, post a link to writing that isn't just BDS-fueled hatred of others. His history posts don't count; history is just research with attitude.
Methinks karma bit him...hard.
Methinks karma bit him...hard.
serr8d
Then you had better wear steel shorts on your passing into the Great Hereafter, troll.
Serr8td, my server won't even OPEN your website. Which sort of tells me I'd better wait until later.
Musharraf's government accused al-Qaeda of the assassination, and if you take into account the apparent fact that the attack on Sharif's supporters happened at roughly the same time, the argument that it was Osama's boys seems plausible enough. The Base has a reputation for carefully coordinated attacks.
I feel extremely sorry for her son. He is 19 and has just finished his first term at university.
Now he's saddled with a 'legacy' and a hell of a burden of expectation. Too much too soon.
Yet another life ruined before he's had a chance.
LC;
Another thing to keep in mind is that most of her siblings, if they were apparently interested in following father's footsteps, died.
Wanting to stand in place of murdered family members is also a strong draw, for better or worse.
"so roundly renounced after his death..."...
ha ha ha ha ha....
stupid monkey...
When Hubris brought up Pakistan some of us commented on this situation.
I thought he crossed a line when he raided the Red Mosque and killed people close to members of the ISI.
Then Bhutto (who supported the Taliban) goes back to her death.
What next? Does Musharraf have to throw his support to them now too?
The ambassador in Afghanistan supports Karzai doing this.
Also, will the US support the Saudi backed candidate Sharif?
To pin Benazir's Bhutto's death on Bush is way overstating the influence of the US government on the dynamics of Pakistani politics, which are incredibly complicated.
I've visited Pakistan regularly in the 1990s while Bhutto and Sharif were trading off terms and getting dumped by the military. And as bad as military-led rule is in Pakistan (it tends to undermine civil institutions in the long run), sadly, the civilian politicians like Ms. Bhutto and Sharif, unfortunately, are a heck of a lot better in terms of their administration, civil liberties, transparancy, social change, etc. Political rancor and partisanship in Pakistan are 10x the intensity of Bush and Rove.
I think people in the West are proabably beguiled by Bhutto because she has a very polished persona - Western educated, martyed father, spent a lot of jail time and exile time, articulate, etc. But back home, she has a more mixed record. She might profess to have progressive political ideas, but she comes from a wealthy landlord family (called feudals in Pakistan), who as a class represent hidebound reactionary forces in the country. And her husband is incredibly unpopular for his greed (he's called Mr. Ten Percent for his reputation for taking, or demanding kickbacks).
That said, it is important for Pakistan to have civilian rule and democracy, no matter how flawed their politicians are.
Why did Bhutto go back to Pakistan, to face possible danger? Well heck, politics is the family business, it's in her blood. She could not sit around in London or Dubai doing nothing.
Bhutto may be Pakistan's Aquino, but I doubt very much Pakistan will have a Corazon solution.
Lust for power is a very slippery slope. Among the rocks at the bottom are obsession, madness, and ruin.
Stormcrow -- Great line! May I quote you?
Two "trivial" points to ponder:
- actually, Bush DID offer to provide her with Blackwater security support, but Musharraf nixed it as being against either Pakistani law or his own policy; no way to know what if any difference their presence would've made to either a sniper or a bomber
- Bush also gave her US intelligence reporting ... which might've indirectly set her up for the hit, but any such correspondance will never see the light of day
sad. I don't pretend to understand the ins and outs. But, I think Angry Black Bitch had a good take on this: http://angryblackbitch.blogspot....zir-
bhutto.html
There's also this, from McClatchy (h/t TPM):
Bhutto report: Musharraf planned to fix elections
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homep...tory/
24001.html
I thought this was a well done and relevant post for anyone that wants to get a bit more of a grasp of the historic situation within Pakistan...
http://www.washblog.com/story/20...12/28/203056/
63
The last news I'd heard on this was that the bullets missed and so did the suicide bomber. What killed her was ducking into the car so fast she banged her head on the sunroof's release lever and fractured her skull.
Musharraf had no obvious advantage in bumping her off, from where I'm standing. The election was fixed anyway and, as opposition leader, Bhutto would be Musharraf's fig leaf of democracy.
I can't see blaming Bush & Condi directly for this, but it is another example of everything they touch turning to shit and drawing all the wrong lessons from it.
Benazir Bhutto (June 21, 1953 – December 27, 2007) was a
Pakistani politician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party a
centre-left political party in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman
elected to lead a Muslim state,[1] having twice been Prime Minister of
Pakistan (1988–1990; 1993–1996).
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http://www.desidirectory.com/des...i-indian-blogs/
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