Benazir Bhutto Assassinated - Buckle Up...

[scottaa1]

from CNN's current front page:

"Benazir Bhutto hit her head on the sunroof, and the blow killed her. That's the latest explanation of how Pakistan's former prime minister died. Earlier, officials said shrapnel and then gunfire killed her. Stories are changing, and a former U.S. intelligence worker says that's because her enemies want "to deny her a martyr's death, and in Islam, that's pretty important."

I am so glad I don't live in certain parts of the world, that being one of them. I sure as heck hope that whatever is happening internally, they're keeping those weapons under tight control. There are many potentials for disaster here.

[scottaa1]

Jeez, they've got her in the ground already. Seems like that was rushed. Or maybe that's customary there.

[knapplc]

So... the gunshot wound to the neck that they reported earlier... that was just a flesh wound?

This is just about the worst thing they could do here. To minimize the method of her death is just going to further incense her supporters, and further polarize the country.

Duh.

[scottaa1]

So... the gunshot wound to the neck that they reported earlier... that was just a flesh wound?

the truth was hidden, and is now buried. the whole situation reeks of foul play and cover-ups.

Maybe I'm reading too much into it. Perhaps the mortuary facilities there can't store people very long. For someone of that magnitude, I'd think they'd lay in state for days, and the actual buriel would be almost a week afterwards. To have the killing/organize the funeral processions/bury her that rapidly just seems like something is being hidden. But again, I don't understand the culture well enough, maybe they were concerned about attempts at defacing the memorial if it was held in state for mourners to visit. Who knows, I sure don't.

I like to read spy/mystery stuff, that's probably affecting my opinion, I realize that.

[scottaa1]

latest development from http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/18/cia.bhutto/index.html

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA believes extremists associated with a Pakistani tribal leader are responsible for the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, according to a U.S. intelligence official.

The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity, said the agency concluded that Baitullah Mehsud -- the leader of the Pakistani Taliban who has ties to al Qaeda -- was behind the attack.

The Pakistani government was quick to blame Mehsud's organization for Bhutto's death in December, producing an intercepted audio communication in which Mehsud confirmed his men were responsible for the attack.

The U.S. intelligence community was first cautious about drawing the same conclusion as the Pakistanis.

But after reviewing various other intelligence, the CIA agreed Mehsud played a role in Bhutto's killing, the U.S. official said.

The CIA viewpoint was first made known in a Washington Post interview with CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden published Friday.

"This was done by that network around Baitullah Mehsud. We have no reason to question that," Hayden told the newspaper.

Mehsud operates out of the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan. Pakistani officials have blamed Mehsud's forces for a number of attacks directed against the government, including one this week in which Islamic militants overran a military outpost in South Waziristan.

U.S. officials and terrorism experts are increasingly worried about the stability of Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban and al Qaeda have drawn closer ideologically over the past couple of years and see themselves at war with the Pakistani state, CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen said at a conference at a Washington think tank Wednesday.

He pointed to the growing number of attacks against Pakistani government officials and the ISI, the country's intelligence service.

Also at the New America Foundation conference, the organization's president, Steve Coll, indicated al Qaeda and the local insurgency are gathering strength as the government of President Pervez Musharraf is weakening.

Hayden praised Musharraf's cooperation in the war on terror, but also said the militants in Pakistan are a "serious base of danger to the current well-being of Pakistan."

A U.S. intelligence official said the stepped-up campaign by the extremists creates a "challenging environment" for the Pakistanis, but indicated the Musharraf government is "increasingly cognizant" of the problem it faces.