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Benazir Bhutto
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Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of
Bhutto was a complex woman, inspiring a predictable array of both worshippers and critics. By all accounts, she was courageous; in her twenties, she spent five years in prison for confronting the cruel general who sentenced her father to death. After her climb to power, she continued her bold habits, driving Christopher Hitchens through the slums of
Her critics have always been quick to point out that she masks her own agendas beneath ceremony and the backing of Western leaders. A string of corruption charges plagued her and her husband while she held office. Last month, the New York Times reminded readers that Bhutto carried “a legacy among Pakistanis as a polarizing figure who during her two turbulent tenures as prime minister, first from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 1996, often acted imperiously and impulsively.”
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Soul searching
What a mess. It will take a lot of time to untangle this one - if ever.
All of the present world turmoil reminds me of Roman history. I once read much of Josephus history, and it was just one bloody thing after another. It seems the bloodiness in history has not stopped or really gotten better.
Speaking for myself, I have been largely ignorant of Bhutto’s politics. Check out Fatima Bhutto, Benazir’s niece and some of her writings. We are not getting anything close to the motivations behind the scene. I agree with MIM, Roman history is instructive.
Paul tells Christians in Galations to let Christ’s spirit cultivate these things in our lives:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Gal 5:22,23)
One by one, the opposite to these fruits of the Spirit are hate, despair, war, impulsiveness, cruelty, evil, treachery, callousness, and chaos.
Everywhere one looks, these horrible things reach their greatest depth of black extremism in the fanatical world of Islam. As far as I can see, nowhere does Islam produce fruits to recommend it to anyone who values life, goodness, and freedom.
Islam is like rabies. Before it kills its victim, it mindlessly lashes out at literally everything around it. It doesn’t matter if you are another Muslim, a citizen of the same country, a relative, a child, a passerby, or a citizen in a distant land—death is the goal. It is presented as the glory of Jihad and martyrdom, but it is only the blackest evil of hell in disguise.
The suicide bomber has become not only the weapon of choice, but an object of worldwide Islamic admiration and an appropriate symbol for the fruits of Islam.
It is the direct opposite of Christianity.
The “cult of death” Islamofascist factions of Islam are in the minority. But the majority of moderate Muslims are far too often willing to enable and appease the radical jihadists in their midst. And in return for this, the main target of the jihadist extremists has become fellow Muslims who they deem to be too moderate.
Already some AlQaeda bigwigs are congratulating their Pakistan affiliates. Were the US ever to experience the return of a comparable leader from overseas (self-chosen) exile, I want to believe that protection/personal security would be extended to that person as we do with even the most fruit-loop fringe candidates here in the USA.
I suspect we are in a real quandary. We cannot condemn Musharaf for not putting more protective restrictions on Bhutto’s movemt. I foresee in the unstable nations attempting democracy a move to use videoteleconferences to reach constituents (”So veddy sorry I cannot be there with you in person!”)
The ill-advised choice to wave from the open sunroof of her SUV was certainly chillingly reminiscent of the open convertible motorcade in Dallas.
Will this change anything? We will continue to funnel zillions in military aid to Karachi. They will in turn spend it helping coreligionists in Kashmir or otherwise fortifying themselves against their non-existent threat from India. Money we give Pakistan should be earmarked for ferreting out Taliban in the mountainous border regions and shutting down the Islamic home-school madrassas. O for a secularizing modernist strongman like Mustapha Kemal Ataturk!
The “cult of death” Islamofascist factions of Islam are in the minority.
This is a comforting thought. Is it true? We may never know, as the doctrine of dar al-Islam keeps them from leveling with us about each other. Blood’s thicker than water, ya know?
WND had a piece wherein an Israeli political campaign security man reviewed the video of Bhutto’s final moments. He was not at all impressed.
Come to think of it, an open sunroof is an invitation to a hand grenade, no??
Joel (#4),
I agree that the actual perpetrators are in the “minority.” However, the word “minority” becomes almost meaningless when the reality is millions among a billion plus. There is obviously something wrong with a system that can produce such an engulfing and evil “minority.” Just at the “minority” cannot be dismissed, neither can the system that spawned it.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) web site gives the western world access to worldwide, domestic Muslim media with english sub-titles. This unsanitized view of the Muslim world shows the reality in their own words: Islam is NOT a religion of peace. From their leadership to the billion+ multitudes that follow them, the seeds of violence and death are engrained in the very fabric of their religion.
It’s clear now that Benazhir Bhutto was involved in a madcap adventure to retake power in Pakistan. There is a fine line between courage and foolishness; this lady crossed it including the sun-roof bit. It’s, also, clear that, though educated in the West at Harvard and Oxford, she ruled in the classic personal oriental style including lining her Swiss accounts variously estimated at about $1.5 billion.
In terms of American vital interests we need to focus on alQuaeda’s growingly successful effort to destabilize Pakistan. It’s not at all clear that Musharaf is in firm control of either the military or intelligence.
Victor Davis Hanson today on NRO writes that:
The greatest diplomatic lapse in the last quarter-century was the allowance of Pakistan to go nuclear in 1998, in part due to the failures of the CIA (over three administrations) and the distractions and lack of consistency in dealing with the final stages of this crisis by the distracted Clinton administration.
Pakistan is becoming close to a failed state, which is exactly one of alQuaeda’s chief present objectives. Americans need to look on the consequences of this with clear eyes.
Americans need to view Pakistan with clear eyes and pay attention to the hard realities.
Michael Martin,
Your points at #8 are well made and well taken.
I read a Mona Charen article today which said:
“The next to last assassination attempt on Benazir Bhutto came on Dec. 13, when a man in the crowd got the former prime minister’s attention. He was holding a 1-year-old baby — Bhutto said later she thought it was a girl — and tried to hand the child across the sea of bodies. Bhutto said, “He kept trying to hand it to people to hand to me. I’m a mother. I love babies. But the [streetlights] had already gone out and I was worried about the baby getting dropped or hurt.” So she turned away and ducked into her armored vehicle. Just then, the baby’s body, rigged with explosives, detonated.”
That’s what we are dealing with in the Middle East with Islamofascist jihadists.
Bhutto represented a modernizing movement within the Islamic world and thus was seen as a threat by the militant Islamists who make lethal “baby bombs.”
Peter - as we are seeing today with Iran, there is not much we can do to prevent a country from going nuclear. Most countries that have wanted to develop nuclear weapons, have.
That said, we helped spur the nuclear arms race on the Indian subcontinent and now, like many of our ventures in that area (as well as the Middle East), it is coming back to bite us.
Oh yeah, I see the light now. If onlt the United States didn’t exist we wouldn’t have the international problems we are dealing with. Or at the very least the U.S. should obviously never get involved with issues that are beyond the continental shelf. Then all these pesky wars and angry religious fanatics or just plain rude people would be happy to live at peace within their own internationally agreed upon borders.
Lets go back to who was hell bent on developing nuclear weapons during WWII and by the grace of God we beat them to the punch because of defectors fleeing ego maniacal, devil invoking psycopaths. Obviously the U.S. has to be condemned for trying to….what?….wanting to rid the world of every freedom hating, oppressive regime. GUILTY AS CHARGED.