Benazir Bhutto, 54

[lagilman]

Like any charismatic figure with power, there was much to admire and much to be wary of. But she was a major figure of her time, a public role model for women at a time and place when there were few available, and her murder is a sad moment for Pakistan, and the rest of the democratic and would-be democratic world.

Pause a moment, and, if you didn't recognize the name, take the time to read about her life and death. Watch history as it unfolds.

Sad, but fascinating.

Where Pakistan goes now is anybody's guess. Is this a death knell for more than a life? Or a ringing call for change? Or is something nobody could have foreseen going to come out of the shadows? It makes me cling to our fucked-up system, and pet our much-abused democracy, and glare even the more at those who would try to dismantle it....

Comments

[pxcampbell.livejournal.com]

I was so saddened to hear about this.

She was a great woman and inspiring leader.

[bigferret.livejournal.com]

Terrible. Just terrible.

[mevennen.livejournal.com]

Hell of a shock to hear about her death on the car radio today. She's been a major political figure for most of my life.

[rwglaub.livejournal.com]

I got a call real early telling me to get my ass into work...

Nobody's claimed responsibility, which is unusual for a region where people like to brag about anything and everything...

[lagilman]

I got a call real early telling me to get my ass into work...

oy, I can only imagine. I hope they stocked up on the good-shit coffee for you guys...

[rwglaub.livejournal.com]

We have a Starbucks in one of the cafeterias. I go there for the hot chocolate in the winter. I don't drink coffee, I normally drink diet sodas or tea...

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Her death does not bode well for women's rights in the Arab Nations.

[rwglaub.livejournal.com]

Al-Qa'ida and the other Salafis (fundamentalists) in the region made her a target because she was an uppity woman who didn't know her place. She was their worst nightmare, an intelligent, articulate, Western-educated woman. Those qualities right there would be enough to condemn her in their eyes.

Her security, or lack of it, was appalling. Plus she took such incredible chances with her own safety.

The Pakistani government denied her the equipment that was needed plus the opportunity to hire private security that most likely would have prevented this.

The shooter was well trained. He knew what he was doing. Then you have the bomb that blew him up to destroy the evidence.

Finding out who trained him and who sent him is going to be difficult.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

AQ is denying its implication. Could the Pakistani government have organized this to keep from losing the election?

[rwglaub.livejournal.com]

It could be rogue elements in the ISI (Pakistani military intelligence). Musharraf certainly doesn't gain by it. The ISI is riddled by fundamentalist senior and retired officers. Those are the ones who train the Taliban and the guerrillas who sneak into Kashmir...

Who profits by this???

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

That is the million dollar question!