Powered by Max Banner Ads
The Bhutto Assassination
Understandably, many are quick to believe that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was directly responsible for today’s murder of Benazir Bhutto.
It is highly unlikely that Musharraf was responsible, because while he obviously had concerns about her beating him in next month’s elections, her murder is about the worst thing that could happen to him politically.
Bhutto was the leader of Pakistan’s largest political party, and her murder threatens to destabilize the entire country and possibly lead to Musharraf’s overthrow.
The Pakistani intelligence service known as the ISI was most likely responsible for the killing. The ISI operates like a state within a state inside Pakistan, frequently engaging in operations without the knowledge or consent of the Pakistani government itself.
They’re said to be an invisible force in Pakistani politics and countless incidents around the world, it is one of the most significant and secretive intelligence agencies that exist today.
The ISI is also known to be riddled with individuals who are sympathetic to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda and in some cases are actual members. It’s entirely possible that the ISI allowed Bhutto to be killed as a way to create the unrest necessary for Musharraf to be overthrown.
The last thing in the world Musharraf wanted to do was create anymore instability in Pakistan or do anything to cast further doubt on the legitimacy of next month’s elections.
Obviously, it would have been in Musharraf’s interest to do whatever was necessary to undermine Bhutto politically, but to have her murdered in front of the world is a disaster both for him and for Pakistan.
President Bush warned Musharraf after the first attempt on Bhutto’s life that he had better make sure she gets adequate protection if he wants to keep seeing U.S. aide money. That is yet another reason it simply wasn’t in Musharraf’s interest to see this happen.
Another possible outcome of Bhutto’s assassination is that it could potentially spark a push back against the radical Islamic movement that has gained considerable strength in recent years.
Benazir Bhutto was certainly a brave woman, who refused to be intimidated by radical Islamic thugs in her country. We will never know if she would have been elected next month, or what it would have meant for Pakistan if she had.
What we do know is that the threat of radical Islam is very real. It has nothing to do with God, but has everything to do with spreading death and destruction to everything it touches.
-Chris Jones
Related Posts
Comments
One Response to “The Bhutto Assassination”
Leave a Reply
I agree completely. Musharraf had little to gain by creating more instability. He is the president, and he could easily have held onto his position with force. I am not as big a fan of Bhutto as most people seem to be, but her party is admittedly better than Al-Qaeda. My major concern is that ‘democracy’ in Pakistan will enable radical Islamic elements to rise to power since they do have significant support.