Initial rep
orts are coming in and SM will certainly pass on the message. First, CNN Reports –
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) — Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was targeted in a deadly suicide bombing Thursday. Media reports quote her husband saying she suffered a bullet wound to the neck in the attack.…The attacker is said to have detonated a bomb as he tried to enter the rally where thousands of people gathered to hear Bhutto speak, police said.
Some first guesses at implications..
While President Pervez Musharraf has promised free and fair parliamentary elections next month, continued instability in the tribal areas and the threat of attack on large crowds has kept people from attending political rallies and dampened the country’s political process.Campaigners from various political groups say fewer people are coming out to show their support due to government crackdowns and the threat of violence.
Today’s violence come less than two weeks ahead of January parliamentary elections and as many days after President Pervez Musharraf lifted a six-week-old state of emergency he said was necessary to ensure the country’s stability.
Stay tuned.
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Updates:
- Getty’s image archive of the event makes for some powerful browsing..
- MSNBC: “A party security adviser said Bhutto was shot in the neck and chest as she got into her vehicle, then the gunman blew himself up.”
- Sky: “Sky News correspondent Alex Crawford said from Pakistan the country’s upcoming January elections would “most likely be postponed or cancelled” because of the attack.”
- “What’s worse, that Musharaff may have had a role in this or that he was powerless to stop it?”
- CNN’s obit on Bhutto
- State Department – “It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy.”
- Very informative blog entries from NBC’s correspondant in Pakistan-
But if you are any one of the 99.9 percent of the rest of the 165 million Pakistanis, you hardly notice the emergency law anymore….But most Pakistanis don’t feel it. Musharraf wants it that way…Most analysts here say Musharraf has damaged his reputation, perhaps critically. But so far, he hasn’t pushed people to the streets. Shops are open. Banks are open. Markets are full. Prices are the same as before emergency law. [link]
With her white veil, bejeweled blouses, flawless English and flair for drama and theatrical timing, Benazir Bhutto has painted herself as lady liberty, a lone woman willing to risk all and stand up to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and his emergency rule…. But Pakistan is not Myanmar, and Bhutto is no Aung San Suu Kyi [link]
- Excellent NYT article on Bhutto’s dark side –
Ms. Bhutto, 54, returned to Pakistan to present herself as the answer to the nation’s troubles: a tribune of democracy in a state that has been under military rule for eight years, and the leader of the country’s largest opposition political party… But her record in power, and the dance of veils she has deftly performed since her return — one moment standing up to General Musharraf, then next seeming to accommodate him, and never quite revealing her actual intentions — has stirred as much distrust as hope among Pakistanis.
…”She believes she is the chosen one, that she is the daughter of Bhutto and everything else is secondary,” said Feisal Naqvi, a corporate lawyer in Lahore who knows Ms. Bhutto … her view of the role of government differed little from the classic notion in Pakistan that the state was the preserve of the ruler who dished out favors to constituents and colleagues..
- World Reaction including India –
In India, which has long had a thorny relationship with its neighbors in Pakistan, an Indian Congress Party spokesman told the Press Trust of India, “… we must express our deep concern at anything that disrupts and disturbs the even keel of democratic governance in Pakistan… it is not only anti-democracy but also generates instability.”
- Belmont Club –
…meaningful elections can occur only when the armies — in this case the Pakistani Army and the armed Islamic militants — are committed to the processes of democracy. When every group under arms within a society is determined to settle the question of power by combat the role for the ballot is small indeed. The next few days will show whether the Pakistani Army — for it will surely not be the Taliban — can rededicate itself to electoral democracy. Pakistan needs its George Washington. Unfortunately it only has its Pervez Musharraf.
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Some of Vinod’s thoughts –
- Both Musharaff and Bhutto are considered Pro-US / Pro-West / Secular leaders
- Especially relative to the Islamists
- And importantly, relative to the general population
- Bhutto moreso than Musharraf
- So, Jihadist forces (who are both anti-Musharraf and anti-Bhutto) are a likely culprit
- To them, Bhutto was a powerful ally to Musharraf (rather than a rival) and potentially more dangerous in the long run
- Knocking out an important ally wins them almost as much “cred” as taking out Musharraf directly
- Bhutto was “more dangerous” because she was even more vocally Pro-West as well as a woman
- “Pro-Musharraf forces” are getting the initial blame by some … but my gut leans skeptical
- The jury is still out on whether this is a net gain or net loss for Musharraf’s interests
- It certainly feeds the perception that he’s not in control of the country
- To them, Bhutto was a powerful ally to Musharraf (rather than a rival) and potentially more dangerous in the long run
- Given their similarities, what are the substantive differences between Musharraf and Bhutto?
- One key difference was their respective views of the general Pakistani population; Musharaff was a bit more of a “realist” ; Bhutto presented herself as an “idealist”
- Musharaff feared that the populism writ large would lead to an illiberal democracy
- Bhutto was more willing to turn to the electorate to ..
- lead the country to more democracy (if you think she has Good Intentions)
- secure more power / perks for herself (if you think she has Bad Intentions despite the lofty rhetoric)
- By contrast, Musharraf feared that Bhutto’s push for “more democracy” would backfire, leading to “less liberalism” rather than realizing her (stated) intentions…
- Perversely, Bhutto’s assassination is a perfect example of illiberality that gives Musharaff the license to enact repressive, authoritarian policy.
- Given these similar goals but different assessments of the starting line, Musharraf sees himself as a Kemal Atatürk ; Bhutto saw herself as Indira Gandhi or Joan of Arc
- Another difference stems from background – Musharraf came up to national leadership via the military while Bhutto through politics
- If you believe the best hope for the country is to follow the “Turkish Model” [more info…] , the Pakistani military is comparatively more professional and a modernizing force relative to the rest of the civil service
- So, arguably, Musharraf is potentially a more effective, less corrupt manager than a career politician.
- of course, a “manager” and a “national leader” are 2 very different things
- … as are “how well” you deploy power vs. “what you do with it”
Assassinating her was cowardly… remarkably cowardly…
I might not have agreed with all of her politics, but I admire her for having the courage to stand up and do what she thought was best, and not being cowed by others.
It’s a damn shame that someone like her had to die.
like I can see the babus sitting in RAW discussing this over chai tommorow 😀 Sorry to be cynical, but India doesnt have the political leadership to take such a decision..not that it should take it. What is most likely to happen is that the MEA will call up their P.O.C in USA, who would pacify them that the nukes are safe and let the US worry abt the nukes.
BBC’s World Have Your Say is reporting that she got in her car, but then “could not resist” emerging from the sunroof for a final wave at supporters. “It was a fatal decision”. Apparently, that’s when she was shot. 🙁
And then there was one…. With only anti-American Nawaz Sharif left as credible opposition Mush can continue to yell “Apres moi le deluge”
I don’t know what to say or do right now. I sit far away from my parents and sister who are in Pakistan, watching the only home I knew for so many years yet again plunging into chaos. I feel guilty for condemning her in the past – I feel guilty for even now thinking momentarily of the terror and turmoil her two tenures as Pakistan’s prime minister brought, during the years I was in middle and high school. I feel immense sadness for her three children and her mother. I worry so for my family and friends and for my homeland: with all its past – will it survive yet another wave of terror? Will we ever be able to hope for something better?
I perhaps irrationally get angry when I hear/read comments connecting this to the global war on terror, or its impact on some other country (thinking mostly of CNN’s coverage). Of people assuming to know what’s happening in my homeland. The comments that condemned Pakistani media for supposedly not blaring this as loudly as the commentator thought it deserved made my blood boil.
How can I convey that while many Pakistanis did NOT see her as the potential savior of our homeland, we never wanted this for her? Why do I feel guilty for not agreeing with her politics, for actually opposing her? I don’t know what to do or say right now, other than pray for her and her family. And for my home.
103 · A N N A said
That’s amazing if that’s how it happened. Just pure speculation (put your tinfoil hats on): An assistant in the limo says “They love you so much. Perhaps you should wave to them one last time before you leave…”
First of all hats of to sepiamutiny which was prominently mentioned on CNN (channel 42). I was speechless as they mentioned this website and describing how the author of this site has quoted the shocking killing of Bhutto.
Back to business of this tragic incident…….
Pakistan is in the grip and grasp of a monstor they created/edited/nurtured selectively to use it as a tool for solving some of their domestic issues as well as foreign policy issues. Politicians as well as Military and not to mention ISI were using it as an open source tool to meet their ends. It was also mentioned that Mrs Bhutto was also one of the founders of Taliban to get a strategic depth in Afghanistan and look what happened to her and Pakistan.
It is very tragic incident and has completely wiped out the hope of Pakistan returning to Democratric rule any time soon.
Beyong This assasination…… I don’t see how Pakistan can go ahead with election plans without any prominent figure for PM post. With Nawaz sharrif barred from contesting, who will lead Pakistan? What will happen, if Nawaz and Musharraf are also assassinated? Will Pakistan stay in one piece? Will Nuclear weopons be confiscated by Americans?
–Sri
Bhutto was not a saint. Nor do I confer upon her these sorts of benedictions just because she’s dead now. Her death was tragic, but what was more tragic was that 12 other people were killed to get to her.
I don’t think that Mussharaf’s goal of preventing Pakistan from “spiralling into chaos at the hands of religious extremists” went hand-in-hand with Bhutto’s goal of preventing that spiral. The two were bitter rivals, and each has been quite sure that they’re deserving of power. Bhutto did not return to Pakistan out of some sort of benign and idealistic love of country. She returned because the time was ripe for her to make a bid for power, and to some extent it almost worked. To say she was the bravest person in the country or that she died a martyr for a cause completely ignores how she has conducted herself since she arrived in Pakistan, or how she conducted herself when she last held power.
To the morons who will no doubt use this to confirm their suspicions that “Pakistan is not ready for democracy.” Uh, yes it is. There is no part of the planet where the people are “unready for democracy,” because democracy is, by definition, the will of the people.
No, saying that allows the speaker in question a moment of moral superiority, which is pretty disgusting, really. For the most part, individuals are powerless in the face of the state, a fact that those who live good lives in “progressive” nations lose sight of all the time when they see political turmoil elsewhere.
Remember: it can happen anywhere. And over time…it does. Your taking the moral high ground doesn’t help in the slightest.
SadKarachiite,
Thank you so much for sharing your comment. I think many of us are experiencing an awkward, conflicted response to her assassination. Someone upthread said it well- today I mourn for her, maybe tomorrow I’ll consider everything she did.
Characterizing her as a “kleptocrat in an Hermes scarf” just feels wrong now. I’m not by any means saying we should forget all faults and lionize the lost…just that right now, I’m saddened, shocked and concerned about what comes next. I’m not considering her past sins right this second.
I was thinking about Benazir Bhutto’s children-I think she has three. Imagine how terrible they must be feeling now.
Osama is safe, and Bhutto wasnt. On one hand pakistani officials say they cant go after tribals, yet when knocking of Bugti in another tribal area is no big deal. The game is obvious
Not only do we need to think about the people killed in this attack but also the people killed in the first attempt too. It’s not just a tragedy that Bhutto was killed but also a tragedy that so many others were killed as well.
A N N A – thanks for putting it perhaps better than I did or could. It does feel wrong to focus on her faults. And by no means did I mean to imply that anyone SM has made me feel guilty or conflicted. I guess I just wanted to put my emotions down and convey that, though I’ve criticized her here in the past, I am still shocked and saddened at what has happened today.
Santosh: one can speculate, but a couple of guests from Pakistan on NPR’s “Day to Day” a few minutes ago mentioned that it was somewhat common for her to wave to crowds at rallies out of the sunroof. One would think that wouldn’t be advisable…
I think her eldest is starting college.
The people in Pakistan whom they are interviewing on the radio right now are saying things like:
“I am shattered.”.
“Pakistan is burning.”
“No clue what this night or tomorrow will bring.”
“Mush. said this would happen, even Benazir said this would happen, everybody did…but no one believed it actually would.” “Innocent people died as well, but focus is on BB. Elite classes are suffering, now there are emergency meetings…why weren’t they meeting when innocent people were dying?”
I’m angry, very f*****G angry, Whatever her flaws she was a leader of a nation and took risks to help Pakistan.
If it was indeed the psychos is the mountains responsible, I hope Pakistan and its people finishes them off ………. slowly.
113 · SadKarachiite said
I think that sums it up well– for me and probably others.
It was such a brutal, barbaric act, at close range, shrapnel flying everywhere. Innocent people who were excited to see their party’s leader (as well as the police who were there) are killed or maimed, to eliminate this so-called “American darling”.
I know that not everyone believed that she was the right person for Pakistan. However everyone has to agree that She was a Brave person and that she had all the things that make great leaders.She stood up for what she believed in in the face of tremendous adversity. People need to celebrate her life, her courage,her fight, and realize that she chose to be brave and stand up. She was the belief that things could change, that a woman could run things, and now all we see is that for any bit of light or hope for this world is useless because darkness will win.
I just don’t understand WHY? Great leaders like Martin Luther King or Ghandi devote their lives for the betterment of others and all they get is an assassins bullet. Musharraf might just as well have shot her himself. Fuck, why do good people have to die? At least she won’t have to suffer in this evil world anymore, and deal with these stupid bastards. God Bless You Benazir Bhutto!
Why would they do that ? Those are golden egg laying psychos…..not even a 4 term Congressman can get more pork out of D.C.
Alas, the sacrifices Musharraf has to make the restore the glory of Pakistan! In times like this, one must offer unquestioning support to whatever measures a strong leader feels are necessary to restore order.
Its more productive that beating up a bus or a rickshaw!! what did those vehicles do?
Naaah. Musharraf only cares about protecting the people of Pakistan from the illiberal choices they might make.
105· SadKarachiite said
Thank you for sharing that with us.
Jenn: I think “celebrate her life” is a bit strong given that it was probably some combo of megalomania and venality that brought her back. Money and fame probably elicit more bravery than love of country in South Asia, you will see that in India as well. We should mourn her violent death because it is yet another indication of the loss of law and order
More from the Beeb…
Re: how so many supporters were killed and the fact that more people died in Pakistan than Afghanistan this year (?!)
Benazir: “You can accuse me of anything, but all I want is this bloodshed in Pakistan…to come to an end. And to achieve that objective, I will talk to anybody.”
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random caller: “Flawed yes, but she was Pakistan’s only hope…(now we must wait) until the next generation”
Kamila Shamsie: “It’s tremendously troubling that assassination is considered a way of dealing with one’s opponents…”
A school mate, who was discussing how she could have taken the easy way and lived safely in the West:
“She was very aware of the risk she was taking, I spoke to her some months back. She didn’t want Pak to fall in to hands of fundamentalists…she wanted democracy.”
A police officer who knew her:
“She was a really brave lady, a sign of democracy in Pakistan. Killing her is an attack on democratic process in Pakistan…She was so brave, like her father. She had local, unqualified members of security from PPP who could not protect her…if she had relied on professional security…”
Random caller from India:
“This was not planned in a huddle in a mosque somewhere…this was a precision attack.”
Random Pakistani-American:
“I’m shocked to hear about Bhutto’s death, it’s time we peace-loving Muslims reclaim our country from killers.”
She came back to Pakistan trying to work out a deal with Musharraf that would get her elected as Prime Minister in a nominal election where her main opponent was not allowed to run. Sure, she put her life at risk in pursuing that goal of power, but considering how well she and Mr. 10 percent did for themselves the first time around, her “courage” is understandable.
That said, this event is definitely tragic given the loss of over a dozen lives (not counting the large casualties in the earlier attempt a couple of months ago), and its ramifications on the immediate future of elections.
If the killer shot her in the neck in such a way that the bullet went through her head, and then as the car kept moving, the suicide bomber appeared further on, then it was closely planned, and even if she hadn’t stood up to wave they would have got her. I suppose the gunman is still at large. Declaring three days of mourning isn’t going to get Musharraf off the hook. I don’t understand why there wasn’t more protection after the first attack on her convoy when she returned to Pakistan in October
He blew himself up, which is what killed the innocent bystanders. See one of my previous comments re: her security detail…
I am certainly not naive enough to glorify Benazir Bhutto. However, it just seems so unseemly. What possesses someone to take out a woman who even if she got to power will certainly have limits placed on her by the military? What are they afraid of? I don;t even think it’s a case of revenge. It just seems to be a case of people wanting more chaos.
Which way did her head lurch? Was anybody watching the grassy knoll?
That’s what western stability wonks have been saying for years. The steady parade of military rulers, for all their talk of discipline and order have proved to be just as incompetent and corrupt as their democratically elected counterparts.
Link
I’m hearing conflicting reports re: whether she was actually shot or whether she was killed by bullet pellets from the suicide bombers vest.
The difference between Benazir and Musharaff, surely the fact that she was far more popular than him and Nawaz Sharif, despite the corruption charges, despite the inept governance, despite the husband, Benazir Bhutto would have probably led her party to a majority in these elections. Pakistan’s illiberality are a result of the denial of democracy more than anything else. Only under General Musharaff did the Islamist parties come to power in the provinces, helped greatly by the fact that he had removed all major non Islamist players. Pakistan began to ISlamize under another “modernizing General” Zia. Pakistan is not the Middle East, things work differently there.
Well, at some point soon it’ll be time to figure out what happens next. A great deal of suspicion will fall on Mussharaf, so at least in the short term he’ll see a brief decline in power, or at least popularity.
I personally don’t think he was actively involved in any of this. But I don’t think he spent a great deal of time trying to keep her alive, either.
Jenn (118):
Uh…a little less hyperbole, please? Comparing Bhutto to either MLK or Ghandhi just because she was assasinated is over-the-top. She was no idealistic martyr for the liberation of Pakistan, contrary to any human impulses to color her that way simply because she died in tragic circumstances.
She was a complex person, but I really don’t think history will judge her as kindly as some people seem to be wont to do now. She spent a lot of time manuevering for personal power, and she didn’t spend very much time actually putting in place the structures that reflected her purported ideals. I agree, she didn’t deserve to be blown up and shot, but she also knew that her death was not just a risk but a likelihood if she returned to Pakistan.
So either she was so idealistic that she felt compelled to return anyway (ha, right), or she thought the potential political reward was worth the risk.
Quoting Jenn@118:
How you feel about Benazir Bhutto is entirely your decision, but I hope you’re not associating her with greatness just because she was assassinated. To paraphrase Carl Sagan: “They laughed at Columbus, they laughed at Fulton, they laughed at the Wright Brothers. But they also laughed at Bozo the Clown.”
pingpong
De mortuis nihil nisi bonum (speak only good of the dead.)
Of course Chuchill’s twist on it is apt for Desi leaders
De mortuis nihil nisi bunkum
Actually, that’s the analysis I’ve been hearing repeatedly, now that I’m glued to the radio. Then again, I suppose all those pronouncements could be dismissed as a deluded interpretation, put forth so as to not speak ill of the dead.
I think she was an idealist. She was not perfect, she made awful decisions and that makes sense because she was human, in a really complicated situation. I can’t even function as an insignificant cog in this huge machine which contains my job, because I miss and still mourn for my Dad; if someone murdered my siblings, too, I surely would be in a corner somewhere, twitching and crying. I certainly wouldn’t be able to function in the capacity she did. Where some see grasping ruthlessness, I see undeniable strength. I don’t understand the need to downplay or dismiss what was good about her, in favor of what was bad, especially today.
OK Sadkarachite, The problem is apparent here. That is the lack of acceptance of failure of the Pak as a state and Pakistani community in general. Your boiling blood is the source of problem. But as far as Bhutto’s death is concerned, India will mourn it as much as some Pakistanis because post-exile she would have brought democracy to Pak which is good for Indian interests.
I got the news slightly late and was too stunned and in total disbelief for a while, before reading Vinod’s excellent post summarizing everything. Congratulations on a fine post, Vinod.
Benazir was a flawed leader marred by charges of incompetence, corruption, double-dealing and worse, but it is entirely possible that, were she to have come to power things might have been different, for Pakistan as well as the rest of the subcontinent. We’ll never know. Zulfiqar Bhutto, and all of his children – Benazir, Shahnawaz and Murtaza have now died violent deaths. Like Indira, Sanjay and Rajiv Gandhi. So one more aspect in which Pakistan and India are alike, if slightly different in details.
Her assassination demonstrates that a determined killer will succeed, in spite of everything, and that security arrangements for a South Asian politician will likely be inadequate no matter what. Her public addresses were always designed to keep the crowd at a safe distance with a huge buffer zone, but they got her when she was leaving the venue. That said, one must wonder how a motorbike rider could have been allowed to approach so close to her vehicle.
After the grief, there is already the inevitable rioting, and a three-day national mourning period has been declared. But after that, with the New Year, I think Pakistan will recover and move on. I don’t think India or the rest of the world needs to worry about the nuclear weapons or anything along those lines.
The elections scheduled for the 8th of January will almost certainly be postponed, or at least I hope they will be, after the country returns from mourning. Nawaz Sharif, who, along with his brother Shahbaz had been debarred from contesting the elections – first announced a suspension of campaigning (4 people were killed in a suicide attack on one of his rallies yesterday as well, and he himself confessed to feeling personally unsafe), and then announced a boycott altogether. If the election is held despite that, it would profoundly impact their legitimacy, and nobody would go for it.
Musharraf will be under some pressure, and these developments will also raise the profile of Mohommadmian Soomro, the present caretaker PM. A technocrat and Senate Chairman, he is also next in line for succession to the Presidency according to the Constitution.
What I think Pakistan most needs now is a government of national reconciliation – with all parties coming together, setting aside partisan politics for a while. What it will almost certainly get is a notionally non-partisan caretaker government with a longer life than expected, but that can be the basis for moving forward. I hope things turn out well for all.
Who is this Ghandi person we keep hearing about?
Oh, there’s this automatic tone shift in speaking of a dead politician who has met a violent end. I am not making a statement either way on Benazir Bhutto’s qualities or lack thereof, but I would still like to caution against calling her idealistic purely due to the manner of her death.
Pingpong, I’m glad you said that (and phrased it so nicely), because I’ve been worried this would emerge as a theme in what will surely be a huge comment thread– there were a lot of little girls who looked up to her, even though she ended up disappointing them. I know, because I was one of them. She was an articulate, confident female leader of a Muslim nation…perhaps I was deprived of role models when I was a child, and it was the dearth of good ones which forced me to count her, whom so many of you disdain, as one of mine. For those of us who did think of her in this sweet but significant way, it adds another upsetting dimension to this assassination.
I hear you– wasn’t trying to imply you were. 🙂 Me, I thought she was an idealist because that’s what some of the people who were closest to her described her as. It had nothing to do with her bloody, ugly, inexcusable murder.
I don’t think anyone’s dismissing what was good about her. But I don’t see the need to absolve her of her sins simply because she died violently, either. That is most decidedly the case, if this thread is indicative of the popular reaction at large. As you yourself put it:
Uh, yeah. You’d kind of have to wonder where all these pronouncements about her nobility were before she died, right? I mean, the media was just awash with items about her bravery and idealism and pure sunshiney goodness after she narrowly dodged that first car bomb immediately after her plane landed, right?
This is important because later on, someone will most assuredly invoke her memory for their own political purposes. And predictably, they’ll paint her with a big gold brush, and throw a halo around her head for good measure.
As I said before, she was a complex and complicated person. Was she idealistic? Partly. Was she in love with power? Most definitely. Her motives were not so pure as people are going to make them out to be, nor were they unknowable, as other people will try to demonstrate.
Chachaji,
As usual eloquently put. Sadly in situations like these madness always takes over reason as happened with Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s assassinations. I agree with people who have shown restraint even though they didn’t agree with Benazir’s politics. At a human level this is tragic, I personally mourn the death of a parent as I know it is going to be especially hard for her three children.
This is gut-wrenching news…..
Sadkarachiite, I can empathise with you. I’m not from Karachi, and this isn’t a news item about my ex-Prime Minister, but I’m shaken by this as by no other recent news. Apparently the fanatics pumped bullets into her but she was alive for 40 more minutes! She was a brave, beautiful, intelligent person, and a woman leader in a world that sorely lacks women leaders.
And Vinod, I find myself disagreeing with your adjective ‘excellent’ for the NYT article on Bhutto’s dark side. It is Very badly timed and in terrible taste…I cannot imagine them putting out something in a similar vein after an American tragedy. ‘Balance’ in reporting by NYT is all okay, but that is when you’re critiquing a current event/speech, not when we’re all mourning someone who’s just been brutally murdered.
Well, apparently all you need to do is die, not even violently. Ralph Reed asks, “Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?“.
I don’t either. I also don’t see the need to recount them hours after her assassination.
Right, except not. When is the media ever awash with positive or balanced news? Negativity sells, with the occasional, insignificant nod towards a photo-op of a politician doing something vaguely positive. No one cares if Barack Obama once did this really cool, helpful thing. They DO care about his furrin’-soundin’ name or his drug use. Once someone is dead, especially if them met their end in such a deplorable manner, the floodgates open with rememberance of things good. That’s human nature and I think it’s odd to be so disappointed by it.
I am so sick of all the people on here criticizing Benazir Bhutto. You are entitled to your opinions but so am I. At least She tried to change something she didn’t like. No one ever born is a fucking saint.Everyone makes mistakes, but at least she was trying to better things. I suppose you all would rather the alternative leaders and just overlook the fact that she had to work harder (she’s a woman and her family history) than any of these other losers.
134 A little less negativity-I can’t believe how many people are bitching about her life instead of looking at what shes done or was trying to do. How many of you would put your life in danger for something you believe in, would you be willing to take a bullet for it?Would you put your family in danger for it?
MLK and Ghandi did, and so did Benazir Bhutto and if you can’t see that then you’re part of the sheeplike population that sit around and bitch until one of these people do something then appreciate all the freedoms that you have.
She tried her best which is more than a lot of other people have done,and she should be appreciated and missed.Where’s the empathy for a woman that stood up for her beliefs,that was a mother, a wife, a daughter? She has a global impact ,look at all the countries condemning this- No apparently here people can only criticize her life.I’m so pissed off and sad which is more that some of you can even muster.
chevalier, the NYT article came out on Nov. 10th. Not today.
But your comment is indicative of exactly what I’m talking about.