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Friday, December 28, 2007

Violence Begets Violence- The Aftermath of Benazir Bhutto's Assassination

Pakistan is a mess. It's been a mess for a long, long time, but with Benazir Bhutto's recent assassination, the country has been plunged into even greater depths of chaos and darkness, which is not a very comforting thought given Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.

Since Bhutto's death, violence has erupted across the nation, with riots and the usual riot-inspired activities taking center stage- like robbing banks and setting train stations ablaze. And the customary angry finger-pointing and blaming- mostly President Pervez Musharaf, of course, for what people claim was lax security. Even Bhutto (from the other side) has come back to blame Musharraf. CNN's Wolf Blitzer revealed an email he received that Bhutto had asked to be sent to the media were anything to happen to her. In that email she states that if she were to be harmed "I wld (would) hold Musharaf (sic) responsible."

Then you have the contradictions and the bickering over the exact manner of death - the official version: she died from a head fracture not bullet wounds. The other side disagrees. But, frankly, what does it matter whether she died from a skull fracture or bullet wounds- the point being is she died- from wounds she sustained after a suicide bomber tried to gun her down and then blew himself , and others, to bits. And, whether Musharaf was remiss in not providing enough security or not, is irrelevant. Shouldn't the Pakistani people be channelling all that anger, and placing blame where it rightfully belongs- those responsible for all the suicide bombings- the radicals and extremists that seem intent on taking over nuclear-equipped Pakistan (and the rest of that region)?

Al Qaida, the Taliban and all the rest of their ilk are doing their best to ensure that the seeds of democracy fail to take root in fragile, fledgling democratic nations, like Pakistan and Iraq. They seem to be succeeding, and will continue to do do so if the people of those nations fail to take action and root out those who want to send them back to the dark ages. Unless, of course, that's where they'd prefer to be.

9 comments:

Ottavio (Otto) Marasco said...

But what do the people of Pakistan want? I read a disturbing piece which shows that just on 46% of the voting population is strongly sympathetic to terrorists. Thus as I alluded in my post, democratic elections may produce another Gaza result where the voters elected Hamas. But Pakistan is not Gaza and a similar result would be catastrophic.

I worry about how deep both Al Qaida, and Taliban interests run inside the Pakistani psyche.

MUD said...

PBS had a Pakistani professor on and he said there are three big problems in Pakistan. First it is a Democratic country wrapped in a rigid structure. Between the harsh religion and past Governmental practices there is little room for traditional freedom offered by the word Democracy. Second, Pakistan is located between the countries of China, India, Iraq and Afghanistan. How the hell could a country in such a location be stable? The third thing is the actual desires of Pakistani people. They demand change and allow the Military to return to political power over and over when the governments fail. In fact they almost demand it to restore stability. With these three forces pressing on Pakistan they will remain a volatile country in a dangerous region. MUD

Pat Jenkins said...

excellent point and post incog!!!

Karen Townsend said...

Your description is absolutely correct - it's a mess. The thoughts of Musharraf being taken out next is really terrifying. Bhutto's murder was a horror. She was a brave, dedicated woman. Pakistan's loss. Ours, too.

Aurora said...

Incognito, yes Pakistan is a very dangerous place made up of a bunch of incohesive tribal factions united only by Islam. Let's hope there's enough collective sanity there to keep their itchy fingers off the nuke button.

WomanHonorThyself said...

great work Incog..yes it is a mess because its run by u know who!.HAPPY NEW YEAR FULL OF LOVE AND LAUGHTER!.:)..

Melanie said...

Great Post! I wonder if it is fear that causes good people to shrink away and not fight...easy for me to say in the freedoms I have....I cannot imagine having a family in Pakistan. I do feel for them...

Stylin said...

Its a mess,Incog.
I havent been able to get a hold of my mom to ask her what the common Indian opinion is.
She was pakistans best bet.

Cliff said...

Forget the Oscars, Emmys and Tonys. You have wone one of the WIXY's Gone Bananas coveted Top Banana Awards.