in related news -

Benazir Bhutto was so fearful for her life that she tried to hire British and American security experts to protect her, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal...Ms Bhutto's entourage discussed deals with the American Blackwater operation, this newspaper has learnt.

...A Blackwater spokesman confirmed the negotiations. "We were approached to provide prime minister Bhutto's security, but an agreement was unfortunately never reached," she said. She declined to go into the precise details.

Being surrounded by foreign bodyguards would have added to criticisms that Ms Bhutto was in the pocket of the West - an accusation levelled at President Karzai - and might not have been welcomed by her own Pakistani security staff.

She didn't have a chance. :(

The new video that has come out shows her being hit by the bullet pretty clearly - her head slumping as a result of the gunfire cannot be attributed to anything else. It is shocking that the official version still remains "accidental blunt force trauma". But then I forget that in that part of the world video evidence is not that important - remember the Gujarat Tehelka thing - I don't think anything came out of that either.

What difference it made, whether she died from shrapnel wounds or hitting her head while ducking from the blast, still escapes me. She is dead as a result of an attack on her person. The exact nature of the death is near, if not, irrelevant, no?

Brigadier Cheema has the unenviable task of being the spokesperson of a self-deluding, obdurate, purblind autocrat [anyone else remember Comical ali. And then, who can forget Powell's glorious UN tales.]


The G&M believes the reason they brought up the sunroof handle was to give BB a less glorious death and thus blunt her development into a martyr. It's no different from the logic that was at play around Pat Tillman's death. We are all the same. All of us. Venal to the core.

She is dead as a result of an attack on her person. The exact nature of the death is near, if not, irrelevant, no?

It is relevant if it's a lie. What I am troubled by is the cover-up element, like the doctors being "influenced" to ignore their own findings and Cheema's spin on the assassination. Additionally, the security experts quoted in the NYT article which this post is based on think that her being shot is far worse for the Pakistani govt to cop to, because it makes them look negligent; all of that does make this situation worse to me. I get where you're coming from, though.

Another possible motive behind this cover-up by the government is to shrug off their responsibility of protecting Bhutto. If they can make people believe that she did not die from a bullet or from shrapnel, but by her own sudden reaction to the blast, then it puts them in a much better position.
One should keep in mind that everyone inside Bhutto's Land Rover survived the blast, thereby strengthening the government's tacit claim that she would have survived if not for her head hitting the lever of the sun-roof.

"What difference it made, whether she died from shrapnel wounds or hitting her head while ducking from the blast, still escapes me"

There's also the consideration of herl legacy. Mushy is trying to deny her martydom status by contriving a death that implies a cowardly act of ducking. The Islamic culture prides those who martyr themselves with blood, naming them shaheeds. By spinning the story, Mushy's attempts seem to quell giving her a legacy, which may be larger in death than in life. Denying her such a patriotic death in the name of democracy could be such a motive.

CNN concurs: CNN national security analyst Ken Robinson, who worked in U.S. intelligence in Pakistan during the Clinton administration, said he suspects Bhutto's enemies are attempting to control her legacy by minimizing the attack's role in her demise. "They're trying to deny her a martyr's death, and in Islam, that's pretty important," Robinson said.

A lot of us aren’t buying what Pakistan is selling

But a great many of us also think conspiracy theories at this stage in the game are overblown and unhelpful. The last thing that this part of the world needs are more conspiracy theories. I for one am still willing to see what the government of Pakistan (and Mushie) is selling.

Also, Bhutto is dead and the death of anyone is a bad thing. I won't be shedding many tears though. To put it simply, Bhutto craved power more than she feared death. People like that are usually (or at least should be) prepared for what befalls them. Here is a good critique written before the assassination.

Mushy is trying to deny her martydom status by contriving a death that implies a cowardly act of ducking.

The entire world should deny her "Martyr status." If people really think this woman was a martyr then we have a lot more to worry about.

I dont believe that Benazir deserved to die by an assasin. She should have been tried in a Court of law along with her criminal husband. Also the people who killed Benazir probably did not do it out of a sense of justice but to settle some old score.

Having said that, I am not shedding any tears for this woman. She was hands down more corrupt than both Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif. This 'chairperson for life' of the PPP was no liberal and her two terms in power were especially aliberal. The extra judicial killings and people missing under her reign was actually worse than Nawaz Sharif's reign. This is a woman who quite possibly had her brother killed. If she did not order the killings, she was absolutely involved in the cover up.

Having said that, I am not shedding any tears for this woman. She was hands down more corrupt than both Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif.

Word. Live by corruption, die by corruption.

I suppose that the denial of martyrdom status makes the most sense (tho' really, the difference in proximate causation is . . . well, it's just ridiculous). I guess I also take it as a given that the gov't will lie about it. I just thought they'd lie for a useful purpose.

Ms. Bhutto died of a wound sustained when she hit her head on a lever attached to the sun roof of the vehicle as she ducked a bullet and was thrown about by the force of the blast. “Three shots were fired but they missed her,” Brigadier Cheema said. “Then there was an explosion.”

Yeah, someone dodges a bullet, only to crack their skull on a sunroof handle, all with an amazingly coincidental explosion happening at the same time. Is Cheema a spokesperson for the Pakistan Government or is he auditioning for the next Monty Python stage play? Why doesn't Cheema just admit that Bhutto was bitten by a tiger? That would be more believable than what he's trying to paint.

the security experts quoted in the NYT article which this post is based on think that her being shot is far worse for the Pakistani govt to cop to, because it makes them look negligent

Those security experts are talking nonsense. The assassin(s) managed to shoot at her and blow themselves up. Thats a failure in security. Period. How does the govt look less negligent if the shots missed?

The reason for the govts idiotic claim that the cause of Benazir's death was accidental suicide by sunroof is sleazy and mean political gamesmanship. Once Bhutto was safely buried, knowing that Bhutto's family and supporters wouldnt allow the indignity of exhumation they came up with this deliberate lie "to give BB a less glorious death and thus blunt her development into a martyr" (in the words of the poster above).

Those sleazeballs must have been congratulating themselves on being so very clever. But their 'clever' tactic has backfired big time and made them lose whatever face they had left. And much of the world is watching their humiliating loss of credibility.

Also, Bhutto is dead and the death of anyone is a bad thing. I won't be shedding many tears though. To put it simply, Bhutto craved power more than she feared death. People like that are usually (or at least should be) prepared for what befalls them. Here is a good critique written before the assassination.

umm... i am not a fan either, but that's a bit harsh. i dont know abotu whether she feared death or not - but given that she was greeted with a bomb explosion the day she landed in pakistan and yet kept pushing forward into the crowds, it does speak of a certain amount and a certain type of bravery. then again, it isnt a sin to seek power for power's sake alone. Closer to home, Jean Chretien, exPM of Canada, has publicly stated in his memoir that his goal as a politician is to get power and to hold on to power - and IMO he's been a good administrator and good for Canada. Desire is good. Desire for Power is necessary because without power one can do nothing.

i can be debate the issue from another end and blast the misuse of power, the nepotism at play through her rule, her failure to live up to feminist principles etc but it is just a little courteous to let the earth on someone's grave go cold before dredging up her skeletons (sic).

btw - here's a conspiracy theory. Zardari was estranged from bhutto. He stands to gain the most with her death. now he is unofficially leader of one of the main opposition parties and can pull the strings to his heart's content. so, he could eb behind all this. If this is too far fetched, remember this. Zardari is alleged to have had murtaza bhutto killed because murtaza publicly humilated him (by forcibly shaving half of zardari's moustache). The games these guys play are at a level that are beyond the hoi polloi (such as us).

In malayalam there is a saying:

`Vaal-eduthavan vaalale`(the one who took the sword will be done by the sword)....

'nuff said.

Cliff

Also the vaporous coverage of her death in the American media is a new low for American media. How about adding some perspective instead of the 'brave-woman-democracy lover' memo which was recited by every analyst who showed up on tv to discuss her death.

But a great many of us also think conspiracy theories at this stage in the game are overblown and unhelpful. The last thing that this part of the world needs are more conspiracy theories. I for one am still willing to see what the government of Pakistan (and Mushie) is selling.

Abhi, are you accusing the NYT of engaging in recklessness? I understand your concern about conspiracy theories...actually I don't...I thought you liked them! ;)

I'm going to have to respectfully disagree with you, I think it is okay to be disturbed that the Pakistani government is saying one thing while doctors, witnesses et al are saying another right now. If not now, when information floods out, what stage are we allowed to wonder about what's going on? They're selling some nonsense regarding a sunroof. I'm not buying that. If they want to sell me something else, I'll poke at it and take a wary look.

2 · A N N A said

She didn't have a chance. :(

“I am a daughter of the East. I was born into it; conditioned by it; thrust into a political system which is Eastern—a political system in which I have to win or lose. And, more than that, as a daughter of the East I want other women, born into this tradition, this environment, where they’re forced to submit to those societal pressures and those fates which have been written for them, to see how I fight—as a politician, as a woman, as a mother—and how I survive. I want to show them that they can rise above these pressures too, and that they can demand to make their own choices, and not have others—fathers, husbands, or brothers—make their choices for them.”

Powerful words in general, even more so for me, being the daddy of a little girl. It gives me pause to think about the great women in history and how often they have paid with their lives for the struggles they have led.

It is because of her fight and her determination to not be put down, to not be cowed, or forced to hide that she was cut down. Even with all of her faults, and she had a few, Benazir Bhutto provided a role model for women in Pakistan and around the world. She gave all women the chance to say "I am more than you allow me to be. I have the right to lead my own life as I see fit". In her own nation, currently being ripped asunder by the forces of extremism battling the powers behind a fragile status quo, she provided a clear and dangerous message of empowerment, of a third way out of the madness, that the lunatic fringes would not tolerate. If the powers of blind fundamentalism suddenly admitted that they wrong along about the role of women then their grip on other powers unravels too as everything opens to examination.

So they killed her. And they could mean, Al-Qaeda, or Musharaff, or some other political rival. Maybe we all had a small part in that assassination as well by standing idly by while she stood for a better future for her people, and for all people.

And I know that some don't think that's as important as other issues in the world, but let's be honest, true equality and empowerment for women leads to more freedom and prosperity for all people. As long as a culture is allowed to discriminate against an entire gender for the sake of religion or tradition then other freedoms whither and die too. And then, well, we all suffer.

Hat tip to 3 Quarks Daily for linking to the New Yorker Profile.

Also the vaporous coverage of her death in the American media is a new low for American media.

I said almost the same thing yesterday, to one of you. Unfortunately, I did not use the word "vaporous". That's a good word. I'm stealing it.

It seems to me that all of these responses to Benazir's death ignore the main point, which is why in India and Pakistan there is such an undercurrent of violence that threatens to erupt at every turn. Perhaps those who don't live there don't have an impression of this truth.

4 · MB said

What difference it made, whether she died from shrapnel wounds or hitting her head while ducking from the blast, still escapes me. She is dead as a result of an attack on her person. The exact nature of the death is near, if not, irrelevant, no?

It is very relevant. It shows us how manipulative Pak is. The Pak authorities for a long time and the press of Pakistan except Geo TV is giving people what they want to hear, not what they need to be hearing. Look at Kargil war or providing refuge to Dawood, they were all major coverups, not to mention minorities civil rights. Not surprising considering the track record of Pak.
Bottom line: You cannot have democracy with the name "islamic republic of pak".

Desire for Power is necessary because without power one can do nothing.

She had power twice. What did she do with it other than give her husband the keys to the national treasury? It seems that she craved power more for the mass adulation (on which she really got off) than for the opportunity it provided to bring change and do good.

Anna and brown_dbd correctly point out why the Pakistan Government might want to claim that it was hitting her head against the lever which led to cardiac arrest. Note that they don't claim that there were no bullets, just that none hit her. Depending on how/if she hit her head against the lever, it could lead to a bleeding wound, and the trauma could lead to cardiac arrest. It is not something you can completely rule out.

It is at least possible that both might be true - she could have been hit by a bullet which grazed or passed through (so that there is no 'foreign object' in her body, which is the Government's claim) - and also hit her head against the lever, and that caused the cardiac arrest. It may not be a simple either/or.

It bears mentioning that PPP does gain by claiming it was a bullet and then not agreeing to a post-mortem autopsy. This way, it never becomes completely clear what happened, but they can still get political mileage out of it, and they don't run the risk of a finding that both things happened but the head hit caused the trauma leading to cardiac arrest.

(Just as a side note, I was quite surprized how many videos of the event are emerging, in addition to the media videos. It is possible that all these videos will give rise to a mini-industry of analysts and conspiracy theorists, like the Kennedy assassination.)

But as far as security, there is simply no way to deny that it was woefully inadequate, no matter whether a bullet hit her or not. Why anyone should get into a bullet proof vehicle, and then stick their head out (or be allowed to do so) is a very big question. Similarly, usual practice in VVIP convoys - to have several identical vehicles, to have no intervening space, to drive quickly through cities, to be surrounded on all sides by outriders or buffer vehicles, to have a siren car, to get in and get out in enclosed spaces, to leave potentially insecure areas immediately, etc etc - none of these were observed. Several blocks of that road really ought to have been shut down to people and traffic till she left the venue. Instead, you clearly see thronging crowds surging her vehicle. Given that the threat against her was specific, and they tried to get her in Karachi just a few weeks ago, it really boggles the mind how such a big security lapse was allowed to occur.

It doesn't really matter, in that sense, how she actually died - there were huge, gaping, unforgivable security lapses no matter. It's also worth mentioning that the assassination took place in Rawalpindi, a garrison town, where the Pakistan Army HQ is located, as are Musharraf's, and all senior generals' houses, considered a fairly secure area.

23 · Topcat said

4 · MB said

What difference it made, whether she died from shrapnel wounds or hitting her head while ducking from the blast, still escapes me. She is dead as a result of an attack on her person. The exact nature of the death is near, if not, irrelevant, no?

It is very relevant. It shows us how manipulative Pak is.

Well, to be a little clearer, I was saying that I didn't see what purpose it served the gov't to quibble over the exact cause of death when it is clear to any person with two brain cells to rub together that she died as a result of an assassination attempt.

4 · MB said

What difference it made, whether she died from shrapnel wounds or hitting her head while ducking from the blast, still escapes me. She is dead as a result of an attack on her person. The exact nature of the death is near, if not, irrelevant, no?

political mileage can be derived from the media hype about the real perpetrator, motive and the benefeciaries of the assassination. It is all about politics whether it is here or there. Who cares about anything else ?

Depending on how/if she hit her head against the lever, it could lead to a bleeding wound, and the trauma could lead to cardiac arrest. It is not something you can completely rule out.

Hogwash. The video evidence clearly shows shots being fired at her head in close range, her head scarf fluttering at the point of entry of the bullet, and her falling straight down.

it's all rotten. the gov., the PPP, the other parties.

god bless amerika.

Abhi, are you accusing the NYT of engaging in recklessness?

It's not like newspapers have never overdramatized stuff like this before to sell newspapers. Then again, I care very little that Bhutto is dead. One less corrupt "leader" in the world. Maybe now some real leadership will rise in Pakistan (and not the kind related to her). Maybe I am thus being surly about this whole issue and appreciate the vaporousness of it all.

Well, to be a little clearer, I was saying that I didn't see what purpose it served the gov't to quibble over the exact cause of death when it is clear to any person with two brain cells to rub together that she died as a result of an assassination attempt.

Assasination attempt??
The govt was trying to do two things
1. Covering up the security lapses. How did a man with a gun and another wearing explosives get that close to BB.
2. I may be wrong but maybe they were trying to make her assasination look less glorious considering the elections next month. Oh, she is a not a martyr she just hit her head and died.

Dev, I haven't seen a video that lets you so easily rule that out, or even one that shows her falling straight down. Care to link it here?

The video evidence clearly shows shots being fired at her head in close range, her head scarf fluttering at the point of entry of the bullet, and her falling straight down.

I did also say a cottage industry of analysts will start up with all these videos in play, just like with the JFK story, and clearly you're leading the pack. I should have added that some or all of them will also claim monopoly over the truth.

I dont believe that Benazir deserved to die by an assasin. She should have been tried in a Court of law along with her criminal husband. Also the people who killed Benazir probably did not do it out of a sense of justice but to settle some old score.

Welcome to South Asia. :)

I'm bothered that she is being held up as a face of the feminist movement in the 'Eastern' world. I remember people saying that she made a lot of promises to peasant women that she didn't follow through on, and that she could've helped the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Can anyone point me to any sources that point out that she had it harder as a woman in politics? Other than Benazir herself, of course--which is what bothers me most; there doesn't seem to be much analysis of her political legacy in the media or in the blogosphere, just misled adulation, IMO. I also want to point out that while probably the vast majority of women in Pakistan find their sex to be a daily burden, there are more populous pockets with a more 'Western' sensibility. I have a friend from Lahore who had a hard time getting people to believe that she isn't under house arrest 24/7 back home. So yeah I feel like it was exploitative of Bhutto to use the 'I stand for all women' rhetoric, especially since her actions show that she never actually followed through on it!

As for how she died- I hold that slow-moving arsenic was injected into her bloodstream while she was sleeping, and in combination with the power of the magical ifrit, she just happened to fall and hit her head at the very same time that three shots were fired and a bomb went off. :)

Just as a side note, I was quite surprized how many videos of the event are emerging, in addition to the media videos. It is possible that all these videos will give rise to a mini-industry of analysts and conspiracy theorists, like the Kennedy assassination.)

Though can be called as conspiracy theorists or media hype hijacking the investigations of security agencies , some of the questions raised were genuine enough that need to be answered or clarified by the govt. This can atleast bring the "truth" out from the clutter and noise. I guess this can be called as investigative journalism ?
Bhutto's supporters would claim that all corruption charges were foisted as a political vendetta by the army which was against her family right from her father's days.

I haven't seen a video that lets you so easily rule that out, or even one that shows her falling straight down. Care to link it here?

Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq-DwHXx4oI

Still want to give credence to the govt claim that she died from accidental suicide by sunroof lever?

I'm bothered that she is being held up as a face of the feminist movement in the 'Eastern' world. True. She was not a champion of womens rights and never claimed to be one but with all her faults she acted as a role model as a woman who held her own in the male dominated pak politics.

Can anyone point me to any sources that point out that she had it harder as a woman in politics?

In the talk show with Simi Garewal she talks about how she constantly underplayed her western liberal education and upbringing in order to avoid controversies in conservative Pak.

I am bothered by the feminist tag myself. She was a muslim woman, and that typically brings a huge burden with it; but she also inherited the Bhutto mantle from her dad, something that made up for any disadvantage many times over. Also, she was lucky enough to be compared to Mushy on democratic credentials. By any objective standards, she is appalling...witness her handing over "control" of her "democratic" party to her husband.

I'm weirded out that her son is apparently the same age/year as me. I can't even imagine what that responsibility and paranoia must feel like.

I'm weirded out that her son is apparently the same age/year as me. I can't even imagine what that responsibility and paranoia must feel like.

He can't make the situation any better, but he very probably can't make it any worse either.

11 · Pagal_Aadmi_for_debauchery said

... She was hands down more corrupt than both Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif. This 'chairperson for life' of the PPP was no liberal and her two terms in power were especially aliberal.

Bibi Benazir-ji stole ~$1B, and when adjusted for inflation is about $1.7B today. I'm sure that all that money was split amongst her and her immediate friends/family. On the other hand, Mushie-bayya swindled the American $5B, and he has distributed that money amongst the military. Therefore, Mushie-bayya stole far more money, but he did so much more insidiously and secretly. His distribution of this fraudulently-earned money was distributed more democratically, instead of horded by Benazir.

I for one am still willing to see what the government of Pakistan (and Mushie) is selling.

Believe on Wednesday what you believe on Monday!

I am bothered by the feminist tag myself. She was a muslim woman, and that typically brings a huge burden with it;

The "feminist" tag is just plain wrong. She had an arranged marriage to a land owning tribal leader, so that she would be more acceptable to the people of Pakistan as a married woman, and so much of Pakistani politics is feudal. She indulged in rampant nepotism, appointing him to the cabinet and letting him skim liberally off Pakistan's wealth, such as it was, and then screamed his innocence from the rooftops even comparing him to Mandela in his imprisonment.

New video released by Pakistan government comprehensively proves Bhutto not hit by bullets.

7 · brown_dbd said

Another possible motive behind this cover-up by the government is to shrug off their responsibility of protecting Bhutto. If they can make people believe that she did not die from a bullet or from shrapnel, but by her own sudden reaction to the blast, then it puts them in a much better position.One should keep in mind that everyone inside Bhutto's Land Rover survived the blast, thereby strengthening the government's tacit claim that she would have survived if not for her head hitting the lever of the sun-roof.

I don't think that it was a Land Rover. It was a Toyota Landcruiser. For sure, this is an attempt to discredit BB from a "Shaheeda" title. His bold-faced lie is a big slap on the face of every Pakistani. I get this impression that he and his employers are also slapping the face of everyone in the world, and not just Pakis. Perhaps Mushie-bayya is taunting the West and all Pakis by this admission of Cheema.

Anyone think there will be an exhumation and second autopsy outside of Pakistan ? How are autopsies viewed by Muslims, are they considered a desecration of the corpse ?

New footage. From a different angle.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=344536176059189156&q=rajnikant+bullet&total=2&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

Sorry about the previous link. This should work.

Not all western commentary on BB is unremittingly positive. William Dalrymple, who was never a worshipper at her shrine (the account of her in his Age of Kali is pretty withering) wrote a deeply unfavourable further account in The Observer on December 30. It's at http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2233261,00.html

Believe on Wednesday what you believe on Monday!

Rahul, that has to be one of the best comments in Sepia history.

Here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vq-DwHXx4oI

Still want to give credence to the govt claim that she died from accidental suicide by sunroof lever?

Sorry Dev, the video you linked in does not rule out a blunt trauma in addition to a possible bullet injury. In fact the concussion hypothesis is explicitly discussed by one of the experts in the video itself. Some of the footage actually seems more grainy than stuff from the JFK assassination, another reason the interpretation is likely to be go on for a long time.

And Dev, would you do everyone the favor of actually reading the entire comment you are responding to instead of picking off one or two phrases? I clearly said that it is possible that there was both a bullet wound and blunt trauma leading to cardiac arrest. Your video does not rule out either possibility, nor their joint occurrence.

I also identified the motivation for the Government and the PPP to each spin the story, so I'm hardly 'giving credence' exclusively to the Government version.

less grainy version of latest video (from the right rear of the vehicle) and extended report can be seen here, including slow-mo:
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/politics/international_politics/footage+of+bhuttos+death/1246547

I am curious what kind of response is felt amongst Pakistani diaspora in UK? I mean ordinary folks, not BB's elite ex-pat friends and cronies. Any mutineers living there with some insight about emerging sympathies/theories?

Sorry Dev, the video you linked in does not rule out a blunt trauma in addition to a possible bullet injury. In fact the concussion hypothesis is explicitly discussed by one of the experts in the video itself.

Truly pathetic thickheadedness. Go watch the video again. The expert in the video explicitly mentions that her scarf must have been lifted up by the concussion from the bullet. Not from the bomb. Do you really think that the concussion from the bomb would have only lifted her head scarf a little but still smacked her head against the sunroof lever with enough force to cause fatal trauma?

The video clearly shows and the commentator explicitly points out that she had already fallen down into the car before the bomb exploded.

52 · Dev said

Truly pathetic thickheadedness.

Well, Prema, can't expect much better from these lower castes, right?

Happy New Year!

Truly pathetic thickheadedness

Well, if Bhutto had been equally thickheaded, things wouldn't have been as pathetic, would they?

Completely off thread, but an interesting, fortuitious note:

It also emerged that the doctor who tried to save Miss Bhutto's life was the son of a doctor who 56 years earlier had battled to save Pakistan's first prime minister after he was shot. Mussadiq Khan, who treated Miss Bhutto in Rawalpindi last week, revealed that his father, Sadiq Khan, was on duty in 1951 when Liaquat Ali Khan was gunned down at a rally in the same park where Miss Bhutto was attacked.

can't expect much better from these lower castes, right?

You are projecting your own caste hatreds onto me Rahul and probably congratulating yourself on your 'clever' deceit. Casteists like you are undoubtedly the worst enemies of India. Despite identical per capita incomes Pakistan has a far fewer proportion of its population living in hunger and horrible, inhumane conditions than democratic India. Who or what do you blame for that if not brahminical casteism?

Despite identical per capita incomes Pakistan has a far fewer proportion of its population living in hunger and horrible, inhumane conditions than democratic India. Who or what do you blame for that if not brahminical casteism?

Communism! C'mon, Prema, now's the time to launch on your "China is great" rant. You're welcome.

Casteists like you are undoubtedly the worst enemies of India.

I always blamed the Australians myself.

Now that this new video has exposed the pakistani govts outrageous lie it will be very interesting to see their reaction. The media around the world is pointing out the obvious:

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=36991§ionid=351020401

"Dramatic new videotape of the assassination of former Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto shows her slumping just after gunshots.

The tape provides the clearest view of the attack and shows that Bhutto was shot.

In the latest video, Bhutto is standing and her hair and scarf appear to move, perhaps from the bullet; then she falls into the car and then the blast.

These images support the theory that Bhutto died at the hands of a shooter before a bomb was detonated.

Everyone inside Bhutto's bomb-proof car is alive and they say they saw her bleeding, and the heavily blood-stained interior appears to support their accounts.

The doctor who initially examined the body said Bhutto died of bullet wounds.

The latest video would contradict the Pakistan government's account."

http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c_online.php?leftnm=10&bKeyFlag=IN&autono=31887

"A dramatic new footage of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination today lent credence to the claim by Pakistan People's Party that she was shot dead - a version vehemently contradicted by the government.

The footage aired by Britain's Channel 4 and subsequently beamed by Pakistani TV channels showed that Bhutto, who stood at the sun-roof of her bulletproof vehicle, had fallen into the car after shots were fired and before a suicide bomber detonated explosives after the Rawalpindi rally on Dec 27.

This was contrary to the government's account that the force of the blast had thrown Bhutto against a metal lever on the car's sun-roof, causing a fatal skull fracture.....

As the gunman - a clean-shaven youth wearing a white shirt, dark waistcoat and dark glasses - opened fire, Bhutto's hair and scarf appeared to rise before she fell into the car......

A ballistics expert told Channel 4 that the new video appears to show the exact moment when Bhutto was struck by a bullet. "If we look at the proximity of the aggressor to the victim, and we take into account which side of the victim the aggressor could be seen, and then we see that the scarf and the base of (Bhutto's) head lifts very suddenly without any other related movement," said expert Roger Gray.

"It suggests to me very strongly that there was a concussion on that side, or in other words, it looks very much like she was struck from a bullet on the left hand side, low down on the head."

She didn't have a chance. :(

True in the long term-- she was going to die at gunpoint from living by gunpoint, but on that particular day did she really really have to stick her distinctive white dupatta and mala clad head and royal purple torso out through the sun roof of her armored vehicle? I mean, really, whose fault was that? And what kind of armored vehicle has a sunroof anyway?

Depending on how/if she hit her head against the lever, it could lead to a bleeding wound, and the trauma could lead to cardiac arrest. It is not something you can completely rule out.

chachaji, I've posted this before--Toyota officials, though not an entirely disinterested, say it couldn't happen because the handle is installed 6 cm inside the edge of the sunroof--it couldn't have stuck out far enough to kill her. If it did, they'd have to recall all of the vehicles with that sunroof.

She was a muslim woman, and that typically brings a huge burden with it; but she also inherited the Bhutto mantle from her dad, something that made up for any disadvantage many times over.

SkepMod, you are so right--she was so much Daddy's girl that she was able to

Sorry half my post died.

Here's the Toyota story I linked earlier. And SkepMod, Daddy's girl was so highly leveraged she was able to get Tariq Ali sprung from prison to participate in a debate she was organizing at the Oxford Union-- Vir Sanghvi's surprisingly badly written but quite complete account of halcyon days at Oxfordhere.
Something tells me she had it going on since before her father and JKGalbraith set up her going to Harvard.

Happy New Year, All!

Pak govt has issued this video showing the trajectory of the bullet as it gets deflected.
Atleast now the case should rest.

55 · Dari said

Completely off thread, but an interesting, fortuitious note:

It also emerged that the doctor who tried to save Miss Bhutto's life was the son of a doctor who 56 years earlier had battled to save Pakistan's first prime minister after he was shot. Mussadiq Khan, who treated Miss Bhutto in Rawalpindi last week, revealed that his father, Sadiq Khan, was on duty in 1951 when Liaquat Ali Khan was gunned down at a rally in the same park where Miss Bhutto was attacked.

Thats interesting considering that Bhutto was assassinated at the very same park where the first prime minister was assassinated.
Happy New Year to All on EST.

Rahul, your engagements with the trolls are hilarious. :) I especially liked the quick comeback of 'Communism.' Do you ever sleep?

Alright people it is official now. BB was not killed by bullet. Look carefully.

Come on people, this might sound corny, but show some love, whether or not the other person is trolling.

To repeat: Corny. Troll. Love.

Thanks, Anil and nala. And nala? Why would I sleep on NYE when I can party it up with my computer?

Topcat:

Alright people it is official now. BB was not killed by bullet. Look carefully.

ROFL.. I was of the idea that this is some serious video clip. BTW, I like the villain in that scene. I think he's famous in Telugu movies.

If people really think this woman was a martyr then we have a lot more to worry about.

I actually think the whole government attempt to rewrite the story makes the whole thing look more sinister/bizarre than it might be (in reality). I don't buy the "lack of security" argument (if someone can blow themselves up, then I don't see why that is appreciably worse than being the target of a sniper), nor do I buy the shaheed argument.

I can't remember who asked about the reactions of "normal" Pakistani-Americans, but I think you'll find a mixed bag. In my non-random sample of friends, there is no love lost for BB, although there is a sense of "oh great, another excuse for Western powers-that-be to comment on how 'backwards' Pakistan is."

although there is a sense of "oh great, another excuse for Western powers-that-be to comment on how 'backwards' Pakistan is."

I think if they're focusing on that instead of the actual problems in Pakistan that her death highlights, they're focusing on the wrong thing. BB's death was horrible mainly from a human perspective, and it's also a sad statement on the current state of Pakistan...whether the government/Musharaf/military/ISI or on the terrorists/militants (and there are overlaps between all of them, any one or a combination of which may be responsible). It is a sign of how backwards public life is (becoming) in Pakistan. And it doesn't bode well for the people there, because their options just got that much narrower. What is the future of that country? Playing with religion has really gotten their hands burnt, and it may be too late to do anything about that now.

The reaction among my Pakistani-American friends has been more one of worry and disappointment at yet another detriment to democracy in their homeland. I haven't heard too much of the 'Oh no what will the American media think' sentiments, which are very valid, but like Amitabh said, betray the fact that the country has serious political problems.

I too found among my non-random sample of Pakistani friends that there was no love lost for BB ... she was corrupt and selfish they said, but "no one deserves to die the way she did". . There was the issue of "oh ... here is another reason for the West to continue their selfish "democratic endeavors".

Side Note: There is a facebook group called, "Let’s not assassinate Bilawal Bhutto because he’s hot, ok?" (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080102/world.htm#5). This facebook group made me think that aside from his good-looks ... why was Bilawal Bhutto put into a position of power at the age of 19 immediately following his mother's death when the possibility of him dying is so high. If he is so good, give him some time to develop, rather than just put him up front to represent the PPP because he is BB’s son and get killed. I doubt he even has substantial experience to be a political leader, why put him at so much risk. At the end of the day I want to ask his father, why didn't he just take the position … put himself at risk rather than his son?

Thanks, Anil and nala. And nala? Why would I sleep on NYE when I can party it up with my computer?

I too thank you Rahul for standing up to the anti-casteist trolls.

70 · nala said

The reaction among my Pakistani-American friends has been more one of worry and disappointment at yet another detriment to democracy in their homeland.

I know some DBD Pakistanis that are glad she was assasinated. Most of BB's support was concentrated among Sindhis who supported her out of ethnic loyalty not ideology and those who benefited from the PPP party machinery.

I also think its ridiculous her son was made party head. He is 19 years old. He doesn't even speak Urdu and spent most of his life in the West. He's spent most of his life living in a rich, privileged bubble. He is no way as accomplished as his mother.

Yeah, my friends aren't shedding tears for her death so much as for what it means politically.

RE: her son- I've heard that he was put in charge of the PPP basically as a puppethead and that his father will actually be calling the shots, but it would be a bad PR move to actually name mr. 10 percent as her 'successor' because of his history of corruption in pakistan.

and he was raised in dubai, wasn't he? does that really qualify as a completely 'western upbringing'?

Hey JGandhi- could you e-mail me? I have some questions about something you mentioned a while ago on a different thread.

74 · nala said

and he was raised in dubai, wasn't he? does that really qualify as a completely 'western upbringing'?

From what I understand, the family grew up in London even though their official residence is in Dubai.

He is 19 years old. He doesn't even speak Urdu and spent most of his life in the West. He's spent most of his life living in a rich, privileged bubble. He is no way as accomplished as his mother.

If not for the gender specific pronoun, I wouldn't know if you were talking about mother or son?

The queen is dead! Long live the regent prince!

It is a sign of how backwards public life is (becoming) in Pakistan.

Also the vaporous coverage of her death in the American media is a new low for American media

Actually, I didn't think it was all that bad considering how low the bar is for them.

I just returned from India, and I think Indian TV channels and newspapers were doing excellent job in analyzing Benazir**, compared to BBC, CNN, etc. (I did watch them in India too).

Three points seemed to have been totally missed in West (and in Sepia Mutiny too) are:

a) Benazir Bhutto always carried a heavy legacy of her father - She did have a sense of entitlement, and manifest destiny. Yes, she was corrupt, but a very strong Pakistani patriot. Every analyst said this thousand times on editorials I read, programs I read.

b) As Imran Khan eloquently put it, "The moment Bush, Condi Rice, Negroponte publicly declared Bhutto as their preferred leader, her death sentence was signed, and an bulls eye was put on skull". It was a matter of time, anyone (and everyone) who hated America in Pakistan (there is no dearth of them right now) would have killed her.

c) No matter how corrupt she was, she was the only Pakistani leader that had mass support not related to religiousity - She has alway been very popular amongst poor, and disenfrachised Pakistanis.

Conclusions: I think Bush and all should sometimes keep their mouth shut publicly, and not complicate matters, in being so candid.

** Benazir Bhutto public life started with accompanying her father during the Simla Pact in 1972.

The government has withdrawn the 'sunroof theory' and apologized (for making themselves look so stupid).

I'd also ask if all the folks that were so credulopus as to beleive the official Pakistani government version of events (Sunroof theory) if they are also as credulous when it comes to the Pak government story of Kargil, of the B-desh war, or of the rise of the Taliban?

In South Asia, whether in Ahmedabad or Islamabad, the government is not a disinterested seeker of truth, and the "official" version should be approached with as much skepticism as a -- well -- pseodonymous blogger on the interweb. Treat every theory like a conspricay theory.

59 · Amrita said

And what kind of armored vehicle has a sunroof anyway?

At the end of the day I want to ask his father, why didn't he just take the position … put himself at risk rather than his son?

Because his father is not a Bhutto,

and he (his father) is openly perceived as very corrupt, and still has legal actions pending (and serving too).

Whereas, Benazir son is also Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's grandson - That is a huge legacy he carries.

Shame to take a 19 year old kid and thrust him into this role...he would be better off living in the West, doing some kind of professional job or something. Oh but then how to skim money out of Pakistan?!

I distinctly remember being in India in 1989 (I was 17) and watching an interview with Benazir (who I thought was quite attractive)...the interviewer congratulated her on the recent birth of her son, and asked her when he would be joining politics? She jokingly replied 'not for a few more months'...well, even 19 years was way too soon.

I think many in the western media who were praising Benazir Bhutto to the skies as a brave champion of democracy must be feeling a little silly right now. The Chairperson For Life(!) of the Pakistan Peoples Party wills her chairpersonship (as if it were a family heirloom) to her 19 year old comics-obsessed son; with her husband (universally acknowledged as corrupt to the bone) to serve as regent till the son comes of age. This comes across as more of a medieval monarchy than a modern democracy.

Ditto for the Nehru-Gandhi political Dynasty in India, which served as the role model for the Bhutto Dynasty of Pakistan.

Amitabh- he was born in September of 1988. Still young though, yeah.

The other american ally in Pakistan, Musharraf and his Army, make no pretenses of being democratic. But they sure come across as stupid, incompetent, devious........and sleazy as hell. Its incredible that they actually concluded that they could get away with the death by sunroof explanation, with much of the world intensely watching. The Army spokesman Cheema, as stupid and sleazy as they come, actually said that 'fortunately' the bullets of the assassin did not hit Benazir!

What kind of an Army makes such a buffoon a brigadier general? No wonder the Pakistan Army is terrified of going into Waziristan and fighting the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

And what does it say about the Indian Army that has been kept on the defensive by such an enemy?

And what does it say about the Indian Army that has been kept on the defensive by such an enemy

I implore you (and everyone else) to treat that question as a rhetorical one. The last Bhutto thread was shut down because of tangents like that.

86 · Dev said

And what does it say about the Indian Army that has been kept on the defensive by such an enemy?

they're too pre-occupied with running their 7-11s?

87 · SM Intern said

I implore you (and everyone else) to treat that question as a rhetorical one. The last Bhutto thread was shut down because of tangents like that.

oops, sorry. saw the warning too late. glad i didn't go with the small penis explanation thaough.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2007/12/31/ST2007123102506.html?hpid=topnews

"Pakistani authorities have pressured the medical personnel who tried to save Benazir Bhutto's life to remain silent about what happened in her final hour and have removed records of her treatment from the facility, according to doctors. In interviews, doctors who were at Bhutto's side at Rawalpindi General Hospital said they were under extreme pressure not to share details about the nature of the injuries that the opposition leader suffered in an attack here Dec. 27.

"The government took all the medical records right after Ms. Bhutto's time of death was read out," said a visibly shaken doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. Sweating and putting his head in his hands, he said: "Look, we have been told by the government to stop talking. And a lot of us feel this is a disgrace."

The doctors now find themselves at the center of a political firestorm over the circumstances of Bhutto's death. The government has said Bhutto, 54, was killed after the force of a suicide bombing caused her head to slam against the lever of her vehicle's sunroof. Bhutto's supporters have pointed to video footage, including a new amateur video released Monday, as proof that she was killed by gunfire. "

This is very late, but I keep reading more about it and just came across this account from the person nearest BB when she was hit, and need to share. There is some sort of closure here, I think.

Was reminded of this by the comment about Geraldo on the saw-many elephants thread