I tried to share the riddle of her death with those too young to recall that in her second term as PM William Jefferson Clinton was in the Oval Office. Hillary and Chelsea Clinton toured the Middle East and Asia and included Bhutto in their rounds of Islamic discovery. How would their political partnership be seen by the world? How would it look if these two powerful women could click their heels together? What would come of such a meeting first as friends and later as close political allies? Herein lay the reason behind this renewed season of political assassination.
Why now?
Has the “war on terror” made Middle Eastern countries, especially espoused allies, safer from attacks? Observers, pundits and democratic candidates believe that the war in Iraq, in particular and the war on terror in general have been a mistake. And what’s worse — has not made the world safer. In addition, I planned to write an article about 'what ifs. I was going to write it in fast-forward fashion about 2009. Here are the scenarios I considered: Political projections aside, I too believed that Bhutto would have won the upcoming January 8th election, to hold a third term as PM. Hillary Clinton, at the same time, projected to be the top or bottom of the Democratic ticket would have been a clear choice to help mend wounds in the lesion of foreign policy. Historically, Bhutto was a friend to America as well as to the Clintons. With Bhutto's death there will be no meeting of parliamentary heads in a fictive Paris summit in 2009 now. There will be no soupcon of salvation for Israel through political conversations, conventions or accords that these two women on the world stage wearing high heels might have wrought. Death changes everything.
Why Bhutto?
These were not the only questions that came to mind. Benazir was a woman who represented the hope of democracy in a Muslim nation. Who can keep democracy alive now in countries like Pakistan? We knew Bhutto was for us. And we knew that America should be much more skeptical of military men in macho display from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, and others like him.
According to Charles Krauthammer of Real Clear Politics:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attempted to engineer a marriage of these two factions by trying to orchestrate Bhutto's return to Pakistan under a power-sharing agreement that Musharraf has just blown to pieces.
Musharraf obviously did not share the same democratic vision of Bhutto and the United States.The other natural question was who, excluding Musharraf; could best lead the anti-terrorism charge from U.S. shores? Enter Barack Obama. Juxtaposed with the hope of a woman at the helm; who could present a kinder, gentler America to those hardened against American Muslim fever, there is the hope that Barack Obama presents. Not only is he a man who will take leadership in bringing people together at a common table. He is a man, I believe, whom foreign governments would welcome simply because he looks like them and understands them.
Article comments
1 - NancyGail
Very nice! I wondered when someone was going to bring up the Kennedy similarity. For those who blame Bhutto because she chose to rise up through the sunroof, we have a dead Prez who was in a convertible!
Now, what is your take on the nuke situation?
2 - JustOneMan
Heres a less complicated opinion...
Why Bhutto, Why Now?
The Bush strategy is working both on the battlefield and diplomatically in Europe and Asia...the Islamic scum is aggregating in Pakistan and Bhutto was an easy target...
This is also a wake-up call for all the Dumbocrats and lefty-loons- it is not Bush against Islam it is Islam against the world.
JOM
3 - Dr Dreadful
December 29, 2007 @ 17:57PM — JustOneMan
Heres a less complicated opinion...
'Nuff said.
4 - JustOneMan
geezzz Dread the Blogcritic Geniass got me again...
I really like the substance of your remarks...
JOM
"Dumbocrats - weak on economics weaker on terror"
5 - BA
Dumbocrats? I thought Dumbo was an elephant(elephants - symbol of the GOP)...lol. I don't care who the next President is or Congress, whatever. The U.S.A. right now is in such terrible shape financially right now, who will bail us out. The housing market, well, i wanted to put my house up for sale maybe, in the spring. But my guess is it won't sell for what it's worth until at least the middle of the term of the next president. And I'm not alone. That alone should tell us Americans where we are headed under this current political dictatorship going on right now. Which gets us to the Pakistan and the middle east...but are we supposed to give up our financial well being for the current military agenda. The answer is evidently. We can send the people over there to fight but then, my friends, we have to help our own people survive, I would sure hope, by equipping them.
So, al-qaeda got to former Prime Minister Bhutto. Well, that's no surprise, isn't al-qaeda running wild all over Pakistan? Or is this some mystery? Oh yeah, they're up in the mountains somewhere...forgot. So let's make sure not to disturb them up there...so they can run their world domination and eventual Apocalypse from up in the safety of those mountains then...And Gen. Musharraf won't raise a stick to prevent it.
And now we are surprised something like the Bhutto assassination happened. Comparing her family to the Kennedy's is ok...for conspiracy theorists and in effect people trying to deflect the truth.
In which way has this Administration not failed us? Domestically? Internationally? Let's just say at least Internationally not many countries are really happy we police the world.
And what will get my goat is like 10 years from now people will think this was a great President, you watch, he'll buy that.
But I'm trying to make the most out of the financial issues that are out of our control. The stuff I can control is the only saving grace.
R.I.P. Prime Minister Bhutto
6 - JustOneMan
"And what will get my goat is like 10 years from now people will think this was a great President, you watch, he'll buy tha"
How ironic... 10 years from now all the Bush Bashing Morons will still be considered morons!
JOM
"Dumbocrats - Short on Brains and Shorter on Penis Size"
7 - Dr Dreadful
JOM, is there a single original thought rattling around anywhere in that wizened organ you laughably call a brain?
What's worrying is that you are actually one of the brighter stars in the Republican firmament...
8 - Heloise
Have you read the latest? They are saying she killed herself!!! Get that. She ducked down, hit her head and bam she's dead.
Clearly the bullet in the neck did her in. MLK was shot in the neck and so was JFK and RFK.
Heloise
9 - JustOneMan
ouchhh...Dread...you really showed me!! I wish I was as smart as you Dumbocrats...geez...
I find your accusation "single original thought" hillarious...especially coming from someone who mindlessly spews the same dribble - "bush lied...global warning...blame america first" crap that you just cut and paste from the Dumbractic party newsletters...
JOM
"Dumbocrats...weak on ethics..strong on plagerism"
10 - sugababe
are yo gay
11 - sugababe
i dont get this site
12 - Jet in Columbus
I don't doubt it Babe
13 - Clavos
Plagiarism
14 - REMF
^ Nice catch, Munchkin.
15 - JustOneMan
sugababe
Based upon the number of posters ---- (maybe 5-10 at best)...its obvious no one gets this site...literally and/or figuratively..
JOM
"Dumbocrats - Losers AGAIN in 2009"
16 - JustOneMan
Jet....
I think you have your gaydar up!
JOM
17 - Heloise
Clinton makes big boo-boo about Bhutto and Musharraf: Must-read. Politico Ben Smith just broke this story! I found it at Breitbart.com who feeds BC on its Web site. It is hilarious that Hillary AKA "genius" Clinton said that Pervez was on the ballot! She and Benazir were friends and surely she knew that Benazir was NEVER president of Pakistan but two-time PM. Her party was in the election and she was once again seeking to become PM for the third time. And people call Heloise an idiot. Eat your words people
18 - Ernest Dempsey
I think Benazir was as power hungry as Musharaf or anyone else in Pakistan's politics. For over 8 years, Benazir didn't try to come to Pakistan and make any effort to make the lives of people better or raise cries of democracy. Even this time, we read so much about her so aspired 'deal' with Musharaf. But when the 'deal' failed, she jumped back to her old funkhole of democracy. This nation never saw the face of an honest politician. And the ignorance of people never ends. They still come in throngs to die in blasts meant for crooked politicians. So much for ignorance and politics!
19 - Heloise
Had to revisit this blog bcz drudge reports that pres musharaf has been arrested for the murder of bhutto. That would make this a true conspiracy unlike jfk who was killed by a little weasel with a weapon.
This is gonna get good bcz musharaf is another puppet of the USA and we send Iran billions and they murder free elections. The Arab world is catching up but still has a long way to go.
20 - Heloise
Meant to say Pakistan. Wow lots of predictions in this blog that both Hillary and Obama would be running foreign policy in this country and that it was a hit from within.
Tags: benazir Bhutto, Pakistan, musharaf