DYING FOR DEMOCRACY
I was sorry to read about the brutal assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan today. I see that my fellow writers here already have covered it but there were a few points that I wanted to make;
Firstly, her death is shocking but not entirely unexpected. Pakistan is a seething volatile state and Musharraf has held back from firmly prosecuting the war on terror on the Al Queda terrorists that reside within his own borders. This carries severe consequences since Al Queda has been allowed to regroup and its murderous intent remains the same - with the extra caveat that Pakistans' nuclear resources must present the Jihadi with even more motivation to destabilise that country. The lesson here is that the Pakistan MUST now move to eradicate Al Queda. Wazirstan has been handed over to the uber fanatics and this must now be firmly reversed. Elsewhere. in those border towns with Afghanistan where Jihadi plan their suicide missions on US forces, action must also be taken. Pakistan CANNOT be with us and against us. Period. Tokenism will not suffice in any meaningful way.
Second, I think we must salute the courage of Ms Bhutto. I remember thinking that her return to her homeland some months ago was incredibly brave, or tremendously foolhardy. Maybe both. But for her to be lose her life as she tried to bring about a more democratic society was a high price to pay for a noble ideal.
Third, the actual nature of the act of murder that has taken place reminds us all just how craven, how EVIL, the Islamic Jihadi are. It strikes me that when one contemplates their profound wickedness, then surely we must all unite in seeking to defeat them. From where I stand, the best way to defeat them is to wipe them out, without mercy. They must be given no sanctuary, no hope, no nothing. Al Queda love death as we love life. Let them be given their wish.
David Vance
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very sad david, really shocked me, my mother my sister
All excellent points David.
I wonder if another high profile Al Queda killing will make any difference to the islamic jihad apologists. I'm betting the blame gets laid at Musharaff's feet for a number of reasons.
I didn't think her entry back into Pakistan politics at this point was a wise or usefull move. It's a shame she lost her life, but not surprising.
Its not like AQ hadnt made it really quite clear that they would pull out all the stops to wipe her out. Yet yes, Musharraf is being blamed...
>>Its not like AQ hadnt made it really quite clear that they would pull out all the stops to wipe her out.<<
AQ is and was beyond redemption anyway. I don't see how this event, if they did it, can change anyone's opinion of them.
'They must be given no sanctuary, no hope, no nothing. Al Queda love death as we love life. Let them be given their wish.'
Understandable sentiments David, but we must remember that Al-Qaeda / Jihad is a mindset rather than a conventional army or terrorist group.
You mention that we must allow them 'no hope.' Their specific hope is to be rewarded in the afterlife, hence their keen-ness on martyrdom. The only way we can deprive them of such hope is by attacking the nonsense of fundamentalist religion and it's supposed post-death consequences.
The suicide idiot who murdered Ms Bhutto today is no doubt being celebrated by many twisted individuals who believe he has gone to paradise. Until everyone (and Muslims in particular) accept the fact that life consists of the here-and-now rather than the hereafter, we can expect a lot more of this delusional, brutal and sadly justifiable nonsense.
Truely terrible. A brave lady!
It is all too easy for these people to have their victories. I hope that they do not gain from this.
from an different AQ
Until everyone (and Muslims in particular) accept the fact that life consists of the here-and-now rather than the hereafter, we can expect a lot more of this delusional, brutal and sadly justifiable nonsense.
Amen to that. But the persistence of
superstitionreligion in the 21st century is one of the facts of poltical life. It's going to take generations before it dies out, if it ever does.The suicide idiot who murdered Ms Bhutto today is no doubt being celebrated by many twisted individuals who believe he has gone to paradise.
he was nothing but a useful idiot to his former masters. they knew it, he didnt. simple as.
"Pakistan is a seething volatile state"
I note the msm hasn't written Pakistan off as a failed state just yet, but I read this comment on Iain Dales blog which I thought summed things up really well. It reads:-
" judith said...
I have recently been reading Lord Curzon on Afghanistan (there's showing off for you!).
There is a tribal way of life in that part of the world that appears to regard assassination and warfare as de rigeur, and has done so for millenia.
It is a self-delusional farce to believe that such cultures are thirsty for democracy, and we should not be throwing away our military's lives, nor our money, nor our diplomatic efforts on forcing our way of life upon them.
We should simply and firmly be ensuring that our frontiers are secure, and that such cultures are not allowed to subvert our own.
December 27, 2007 6:12 PM"
Most sensible pov I've read on the situation so far.
Why not ask if muslims support AQ's attacks in Pakistan? It was asked if muslims support AQ's attacks in Algeria - and a majority did. Muslims are murderous and will kill anybody, including each other.
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2007/12/26/feature-01
I have to admit I had certain reservations about her politically as there was apparent corruption during her time in government, but she clearly had courage in the face of a dangerous situation.
A sad sacrifice her death is. The question is now what?
If Musharif re-acts the way he should and uses this as an excuse to REALLY crackdown on the 1/3 of his population that whole heartidly support all of our deaths for the Glory of Allah. Large segmints of both our governments will rail against him.
If he doesn't then the situation is graver than either of our governments is will to admit or at least express to their own general masses.
If he doesn't mobilize his forces and start a purge of the Tribal lands it is because he has doubts about his own ability to command such a task out of his Army. Which means he is closer to colapsing than anyone is telling us.
When the Musharif government collapses the extreamist forces will seize control and will slaughter all those in their way. The elliments in our governments who believe that the fall of Musharif will be better for the people of Pakistan are idiots. A more moderate government will not be the result an absolulty repressive system of Islamic Sharia Law will emerge Pakistan itself will be the scene of massive slaughter internally as the Muslims CLEANSE their society.
The eventual allignment and drawing of Islamic power that will coalace around those Nuclear weapons will continue AQ Kahns work on a much larger scale with out the burden of having to act secretly.
The great stabilizer in the part of WWII that lasted from 1947 till the fall of the Berlin wall was MAD the Russians and the US knew what an exchange of these weapons meant. The Islamist have no fear of that devistation and therefore will use these weapons when they feel compelled to do so.
We face very big problems and to many of us just want to bury their heads in the sand