Bhutto wrote in October: "I survived an assassination attempt...."

The Wall Street Journal republished a piece by Benazir Bhutto that was written in October. She knew the danger and understood the threat she presented to terrorists and others in the Pakistani government.

The piece, reprinted in yesterday's paper, begins:

(Editor's note: This article appeared in The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 23. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.)

I survived an assassination attempt last week, but 140 of my supporters and security didn't.

This mass murder was particularly sinister, since it targeted not just me and my party leadership, but the hundreds of thousands (some estimate up to three million) of our citizens who came out to welcome me and demonstrate their support for democracy and the democratic process. Their deaths weigh heavily on my heart.

Stating that she knew the risks because they had received credible evidence that an attack may take place, she continued:

We had tried to take precautions. We requested permission to import a bulletproof vehicle. We asked to be provided technology that would detect and disarm IEDs. We had demanded that I receive the level of security to which I'm entitled as a former prime minister.

Now, after the carnage, the fact that the street lights around the assassination site--Shahra e Faisal--had been turned off, allowing the suicide bombers to gain access near to my truck, is very suspicious. I am so discomfited that the bomb investigation has been assigned to Deputy Inspector General Manzoor Mughal, who was present when my husband was almost murdered under torture some years back.

And yet she persevered in her sense of duty to lead the Pakistan Peoples Party to try and preserve democracy in that part of the Middle East.

She ended the piece with this:

The sanctity of the political process must not be allowed to be destroyed by the terrorists. Democracy and moderation must be restored to Pakistan, and the way to do that is through free and fair elections establishing a legitimate government with a popular mandate--leaders supported by the people. Intimidation by murdering cowards will not be allowed to derail Pakistan's transition to democracy. [my emphasis]

I admire that she knew the risks but felt a pull and love of her country that made her move forward anyway ... and she may have been betrayed by some closest to her.

How sad for Pakistan and the world....

RWL: "On the late Benazir Bhutto, and Pakistan’s future"

DJ McGuire at The Right-Wing Liberal is very knowledgeable about the Middle East, its history, and people. He has posted about today's assassination of Benazir Bhutto ... read it for some insight into this Middle Eastern hotspot.

Who was Benazir Bhutto?

"They tried and failed when she returned to Pakistan in October. They tried and failed with a baby suicide bomber. Yesterday, they stopped a 15-year-old with a bomb packed full of nails trying to kill her. Today, they succeeded. Dammit, dammit, dammit." --Michelle Malkin

The news this morning of the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, 54, may cause some to wonder who was this woman who headed the Pakistan Peoples Party.

I remember when she was sworn in in 1988 as the first woman elected to head an Islamic country, a strong woman from a family of politically active leaders ... two brothers who were assassinated and her father was executed. Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities, she served as Prime Minister from 1988-90 and 1993-96.

In the strife-torn country of Pakistan, Mrs. Bhutto had been imprisoned and banished from the country but had recently returned to lead the Peoples Party in the upcoming elections in January 2008.

I emailed my ODBA friend DJ McGuire this morning to ask his thoughts because he is very knowledgeable about that part of the world, the history, and the people. He will probably have a post about this later today.

Fox News report: "Bush Administration condemns assassination of Benazir Bhutto"

Fox News is reporting that the Bush Administration has condemned the assassination of former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto:

"We have seen the press reports. We're seeking confirmation, but we do not have any definitive word one way or the other about former Prime Minister Bhutto's condition," deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
...
U.S. intelligence officials were mobilized on the reports, but the CIA would not immediately offer confirmation of Bhutto's assassination. "We're still looking into it, to make sure we have all the facts," said CIA spokeswoman Michele Ness.

In Washington, Casey said: "Certainly, we condemn the attack on this rally. It demonstrates that there are still those in Pakistan who want to subvert reconciliation and efforts to advance democracy."

What will this do to Pakistan? Fox News goes on to report:

The United States has for months been encouraging President Pervez Musharraf to reach some kind of political accommodation with the opposition, particularly Bhutto, a former prime minister who is seen as having a wide base of support in the Southwest Asian nation. Her party has been widely expected to do well in parliamentary elections set for next month.

U.S. relations with Pakistan, a close ally in the war on terrorism, have been strained since Musharraf late last year declared emergency rule. President Bush and leading administration foreign policy figures repeatedly urged a return to normalcy, and Musharraf ultimately gave up his position as head of the army.
...
In choosing emergency rule, Musharraf purged the judiciary, jailed thousands of opponents and silenced television news channels after he suspended the constitution on Nov. 3.

This story is still unfolding....

Bhutto assassinated ... how will it affect Pakistan?

Breaking through Fox News and the AP this morning:

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide bombing that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally, a party aide and a military official said.

Mrs. Bhutto, Pakistan's former prime minister, was seriously injured and rushed to the hospital where she died in surgery. She had only recently returned to the area where she had a large following. Previous attacks on her life had been unsuccessful.

What will this do to Pakistan and politics in the Middle East?