bhutto had some awareness of the forces that were at work around her-
this was reported by wolf blitzer on the program the situation room yesterday about a "secret email" sent to him, and only to be read in the event of bhuttos death.
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"This past October, Benazir Bhutto sent an e-mail to her longtime friend and U.S. spokesman Mark Siegel.

Addressing the danger she faced in her homeland, Bhutto wrote these words. And let me quote them precisely:

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"Nothing will, God willing, happen. Just wanted you to know, if it does, in addition to the names in my letter to Musharraf of October 16, I would hold Musharraf responsible. I have been made to feel insecure by his minions. And there is no way what is happening, in terms of stopping me from taking private cars or using tinted windows or giving jammers or four police mobiles to cover all sides, could happen without him."
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At Bhutto's request, Mark Siegel forwarded that e-mail to me the day he received it. That was back on October 26. But he told me I could not report on it unless -- unless Bhutto was killed.

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It's an interesting world when the only country that isn't even a suspect in the actual barbaric murder of Bhutto is the same country who is blamed because it encouraged democracy and supported Bhutto (but as always not enough for the carpers).

For some of you it's never the Muslim community who would be peaceful and loving only if the West would leave them alone. They are allowed to have religious freedom in the West but don't think of asking for the same in the East. It's never the religious fanatics because they wouldn't thrive if only the U.S. had stayed out of Iraq. It's never Iran because this theocratic dictatorship is just trying to defend itself by supporting terroristic activities in Palestine and Lebanon.

Fortunately, there is still some sanity in the world but many of you wouldn't recognize it if it hit you in the face. I believe that the true murderers of Bhutto will be found and they, not the U.S. will be to blame. Benazir Bhutto was a courageous woman of conviction and paid the ultimate price for nobility. She, if not you understood that.

As for those billions given to Pakistan, I have no doubt that many funds were turned to bad use but I also appreciate the fact that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban remain strong in Pakistan and they are the enemy of the U.S. and the civilized world. Personally, I would have spent far more a long time ago in Pakistan and hunted down the enemy instead of diverting America strength and strategy to what I always believed was a mis-guided mission in Iraq. But would I fund anti-terrorist activities in Pakistan - absolutely.

well it was a blanket renunciation jrlr-

the renunciation of state terrorism (as the US was charged by the world court with- only nation so far)
goes without saying

What a strange article to conclude that the US was to blame.

Again, considering the source, the US is to blame for everything. How pathetically convenient. A consistently typical exercise to never look in the mirror.

شي ول بيٹ ديم

Anon. Billions of us did NOT kill former Prime Minister Bhutto. (but you seem to have a clue).

what's next for pakistan...

well, the US has given the military dictatorship there at least 10 billion dollars in the past few years...western nations tacitly approved their nuclear proliferation...they are sandwiched in a turbulent region with nuclear powers around them..

some ally.

of course their 10 billion was funneled back to us weapons manufacturers, as per expected.

who killed bhutto? who didn't???

Thank you for reminding us that "... the idea that democracy is no more than elections (is) futile" and that "the U.S. commitment to democratic change in Pakistan was never very convincing". We do not see that analyzed often enough, I believe, in the WP type press.

As for VICTORIA's reference to "these acts of terrorism ... done by deluded and vicious barbarians who claim they represent islam", I wonder what proof she can possibly have of that, in the case of Benazir Bhutto. How about first condemning all such acts committed in our name by the CIA, instead? We do have proof of those all right! Assassination of world political leaders has been an art practised by that Agency long enough and often enough, it seems to me, to deserve renewed condemnation, whether others in this world practise it or not!

We don't need to once again go through the long lists of all those outstanding political leaders whose assassination we are collectively responsible for, on every continent? Or do we?

That’s right Victoria, they can’t blame this one on the general Muslim population. We may find out, however, that the culprit is the Islamist fundamentalists (Al Qaeda and the Taliban) who are enabled by the foolish greed of the colonial USA and Israel.

Certainly Musharraf is one of those with the most to gain. He can now postpone elections indefinitely and hold onto his power, although he may have quite a revolt on his hands if he does so.

On the other hand, Bhutto was a strong ally of the US and an outspoken opponent of the Islamic fundamentalists. That is the kiss of death in this region of the world.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/28/world/asia/28pakistan.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

“In October, Ms. Bhutto survived another deadly suicide attack in the southern city of Karachi on the day she returned from years of self-imposed exile abroad to contest the parliamentary elections. Ms. Bhutto blamed extremist Islamic groups who she said wanted to take over the country for that attack, which narrowly missed her but killed 134 people. But she also complained that the government had taken insufficient steps to safeguard her parade…

She was openly critical of Mr. Musharraf’s ineffectiveness at dealing with Islamic militants and welcomed American involvement…

The assassination comes just days after Mr. Musharraf lifted a state of emergency in the country, which he had used to suspend the Constitution and arrest thousands of political opponents, and which he said he had imposed in part because of terrorist threats by extremists in Pakistan…”

So this is how my crystal ball has it. We just took another step along the path to WW III. The Islamist fundamentalists (Al Qaeda and the Taliban) hold all the cards. Musharraf may or may not be making a serious effort to rein them in. He may be playing live and let live as they build their strength in NW Pakistan and continue to weaken Afghanistan.

The Zionist invader in Palestine keeps the entire Middle East inflamed at both them and the USA for supporting them. Of course our preemptive attack on Iraq and continued occupation of Afghanistan just adds fuel to the flames.

China, India and Pakistan’s thirst for Middle East oil makes them natural allies of Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the other Arabian Gulf oil states. They will be eager to supply whatever these countries need in the way of precision guided land Attack Cruise Missiles (LACM) like the US Tomahawk. These are precision, Global Position System (GPS) satellite guided, low flying cruise missiles that hug the earth and can be programmed to attack Israel from multiple directions. Israel will never know what hit them. These will not be like the thousands of ballistic Katyusha rockets fired from Southern Lebanon, which mostly land in the olive orchards and sage brush fields. These missiles will each have a high rise building or other high value target and street number programmed in them like our Tomahawk attacks on Baghdad in 1991 and 2003.

Our thirst for oil and 10 Trillion dollar national debt, with much of it owed to China, puts us in a very weak strategic position. China could bankrupt us at will by flooding the market with our worthless paper IOUs. That’s why the US dollar has lost ~33% of its value relative to the Euro, which is on its way to becoming the world standard currency. The US dollar will soon be known as the US Peso.

Israel only produces ~1% of its required oil from its own oil wells, and must import 99%, 90% from Russia. Russia is anything but a reliable ally and is known to have used its natural gas supplied to Eastern Europe as a political tool in the past.

So standby for action the so called Zionist “State of Israel” and its number one ally the USA. We live in interesting times.

i unequivocally and unconditionally condemn and revile these acts of terrorism and all acts of terrorsim done by deluded and vicious barbarians who claim they represent islam.

Council on American-Islamic Relations statement-

The “Not in the Name of Islam” petition states:

“We, the undersigned Muslims, wish to state clearly that those who commit acts of terror, murder and cruelty in the name of Islam are not only destroying innocent lives, but are also betraying the values of the faith they claim to represent. No injustice done to Muslims can ever justify the massacre of innocent people, and no act of terror will ever serve the cause of Islam. We repudiate and dissociate ourselves from any Muslim group or individual who commits such brutal and un-Islamic acts. We refuse to allow our faith to be held hostage by the criminal actions of a tiny minority acting outside the teachings of both the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.”

Do you know what our Prophet, peace be upon him, told us? He repeated thrice, "He does not believe! He does not believe! He does not believe!" Who was he referring to? "That person whose neighbour does not feel safe from his evil."

As it states in the Quran: ‘Oh you who believe, stand up firmly for justice, as witnesses to God, even if it be against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be against rich or poor; for God can best protect both. Do not follow any passion, lest you not be just. And if you distort or decline to do justice, verily God is well-acquainted with all that you do.’” (Quran 4:135)