An attack on a political rally killed the Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto near the capital, Islamabad, Thursday. Witnesses said Ms. Bhutto was fired upon at close range before the blast, and an official from her party said Ms. Bhutto was further injured by the explosion, which was apparently caused by a suicide attacker.
Ms. Bhutto was declared dead by doctors at a hospital in Rawalpindi at 6:16 p.m. after the doctors had tried to resuscitate her for thirty-five minutes. She had shrapnel injuries, the doctors said. At least a dozen more people were killed in the attack.
“At 6:16 p.m. she expired,” said Wasif Ali Khan, a member of Ms. Bhutto’s party who was at Rawalpindi General Hospital where she was taken after the attack, according to The Associated Press.Hundreds of supporters had gathered at the political rally, which was being held at Liaqut Bagh, a park that is a common venue for political rallies and speeches, in Rawalpindi, the garrison city adjacent to the capital…
CNN reported that witnesses at the scene described the assassin as opening fire on Ms. Bhutto and her entourage, hitting her at least once in the neck and once in the chest, before blowing himself up…
Discussion on Middle Eastern politics – as always – is open-ended, here.
What has American network television been presenting? While cable and satellite news was streaming images from Pakistan, file footage and commentary – NBC and ABC were focused on zoo safety and CBS was concentrating on the “final push” in Iowa.
These clowns are as responsive as a constipated manatee. I pity that segment of America that still relies on broadcast television for information.
I’m not one for commenting on blogs, but I thought I’d drop my .02.
As for the media coverage, I was pretty appalled this morning to see the lack of attention many stations gave to the assassination. They did, however, all seem to catch on later in the day. Especially CNN with Blitzer conveying Ms. Bhutto’s posthumous message. But you are correct that networks and even cable media outlets are utterly unresponsive to news of any gravity. The networks have been largely pushed out of the “news” business by the cable stations and run mostly canned stories on yesterday’s news. Cable stations like Fox and CNN have attuned themselves to news that sells (horserace/car chase). You don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist or think some agenda is being pushed on you to be disappointed with the mainstream media, just understand the news market. But hey, we all use the internets, so we’ll be fine.
On the Pakistan situation, I think many of us are playing into the hands of the real aggressors here. Assassination attempts are not rare in Pakistan on authority and opposition members alike. Extremist groups have the most to gain from a lawless Pakistan, not Musharraf. I’ve seen a lot more anger and aggression pointed his way than interest in finding out the true assassins so far. True, he definitely did not do all he could to protect Ms. Bhutto, but if reports I’ve heard are correct, she had thousands of her own security detail at the event and this tragedy could have been prevented with the same level of force. I heard one report say it is “controlled chaos” at these events and nearly impossible to create the security bubble that our politicians are used to. Musharraf is clearly not the ideal leader for Pakistan, but Ms. Bhutto’s death will not make it any easier for him to stay in power. Indeed he might be thrown out in the next few days. Also, calling off upcoming elections altogether would be suicide on the world stage now that everyone will be watching. Aggression needs to be turned toward those forces that are attempting to destabilize Pakistan to set up a regime of their own choosing.
Lastly. I’m no Bush supporter, but I think they’re worried about this situation more than we think. Ms. Bhutto was a public critic of the administration (mostly because of their backing of Musharraf), but pro-west and liberal. Before they had a choice of a puppet government or a pro-west government. Now they’re staring down the barrel at no government at all.
Hillary should have been there supporting her.
#22
I’m asking if the Republicans will shoot hillary.
#36, Angel,
Just read #34 for the Republican’s true desires.