RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide bombing that also killed at least 20 others and plunged the nuclear-armed country into chaos ahead of a general election she had hoped to win. (source MSNBC News Services)
Be clear this was not a suicide bomber but a homicide bomber. A murderer that does not deserve the mention of his name. A coward at the end. But this unfortunate event triggered a series of responses from our government. Bhuto supporters continue to riot demanding the Musharraf regime explain how this could happen with elections a little over 2 weeks away.
I am not a specialist or expert in Pakistani political events and neither does our own government seem to be. Backing a military dictator that spits in the eye of democracy and yet only receive lukewarm support only by giving his regime billions of dollars per year as a political payoff. Is he our best bet?
There is little doubt, in my mind, our government thought the frying pan (Musharraf) was better than the fire (Bhuto) and did all it could to point the finger towards terror activity rather than the Musharraf regime. El Qaida or the Taliban surely must have been involved according to our presidential hopefuls and the administration. Supporting Musharrof will only continue to drive a wedge between America and the Pakistani people.
And now we have a woman hailed as a great democratic savior where, she, herself was impeached and forced into humiliating exile. Was she any better than Musharraf? Is she the beacon of light that was bringing democratic principles to Pakistan? If this were true why is our own government, staunch defenders of democracy, siding with Musharraf? Has our government been making payments to a regime not committed to democracy? How can we justify spending billions in Iraq to build a democratic nation when the friends we side with are no more democratic than Iran or North Korea?
And now look at our political candidates for President falling all over themselves condemning terrorism and repeating that same old tune we have to "continue the fight on global terror" . Of course, at this time, less than a day after the assassination, there is no evidence that el Qaida or the Taliban had anything to do with this but yet they sing the same old refrain.
The administration would love nothing better than to blame terrorist. Why? First it takes the heat off their boy Musharraf, who commands a volatile country that he has little control over. Second, if you do not have a war on terror you have to create one. This is great news to be spun so fast that your head spinning couldn't keep up. The political war machine in bed with the industrial war complex using our tax dollars to profit. Now we can allocate more tax revenue to a more ardent fight on terror. According tothe adminsitration this event confirms that we can not be vigilant enough. More money to build more bombs to fight somebody with no country, no uniform, and no honor. Fight the war on terror before it reaches here.( Even though they have already indicated we will be hit not if but when and they have already given up on soft targets - that means you and me).
But the looming question for me is is this really about terror or just another power hungry mad man doing all he can to stay in power? Or is it simply a lack of opportunity for people, under repressive and corrupt governments, to get the basics of life. Consider Pakistan with its largest city reaching over 16 million inhabitants. Twelve million cannot find work and are in extreme poverty but yet their government is corrupt and spends on military equipment versus human needs. Bhuto, herself, was run out of the country on two occasions for corruption and bilking millions from state coffers. The second time in 1996. She ended up spending 4 years in prison. Can a former convict really be a beacon for democracy? How can we defend ourselves when we pump billions in war and not in economic opportunities for the these people? Isn't obvious given the poverty that any offer to strap on a bomb for a payment to the family can be easily justfied. If we do not impove the human condition stopping the war on terror will never be won.
This is a form of economic terrorism created by their government. Economic terrorism survives through graft, corruption, spending on the military complex versus basic needs. This prevents people from entering the economy in a meaningful way. As a result they suffer and can not make enough to survive. This in turn creates mayhem and starts bringing down the fundamental underpinnings of democracy. Democracy is hard pressed to survive without economic freedom, the creation of meaningful employment, and peace to allow you to move and flourish in your environment. This makes it easy for people like Chavez and Musharraf to take control and rule with an iron fist. It also enables anyone with promises to stir enough emotion to have major outbreaks of civil disobedience that eventually lead to the downfall of governments and democracies.
Our government hands out money to these dictators to spend on war equipment and not to help its people be creating jobs, living free from repressive authority, and living in peace. This is what democracy and economic leadership can bring but instead in these countries the powerful survive at the expense of the poor.
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