[Iowa-dx] From DC Greens: Bhutto's Blood Is on Bush's Hands

[GreenParty Ron]

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I received a message from DC Statehood Green Party's list-servethat had a
link to the following article from AlterNet:

ForeignPolicy

See more stories tagged with: musharraf, bhutto, bush, pakistan

Shahid Buttar is a Pakistani-American lawyer, scholar, media activist,
poet, hip-hop MC, and grassroots community organizer. He's currently
traveling throughout Pakistan to conduct an independent investigation of
events since the first removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury in
March, 2007. To read more articles or to listen to his music, visit
www.ShahidButtar.com.

Bhutto's Blood Is on Bush's Hands

By Shahid Buttar, AlterNet. Posted January 2, 2008.


The complicity of the U.S. in Pakistan's violence should alarm all
observers. When news first broke of the assassination of former Pakistani
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, I sat in the living room of a judge in
Islamabad, glued to the television with an off-duty doctor from the
hospital where Bhutto was taken. While the nation and the world continue
to reel from the violent death of a world-historical figure, relatively
little attention has been paid to the central role of U.S. foreign policy
in her demise.

A great many voices have commented on Bhutto's immense historical
stature. Others have noted the tremendous loss her death represents to
the people of Pakistan and its grave implications for the nation's
democracy. Benazir Bhutto was a forceful champion for the downtrodden,
the most effective international diplomat Pakistan has ever produced, and
an inspiration to millions (and possibly even billions) of people stirred
by her service as the Muslim world's first female head of state.

Allegations of corruption dogged Bhutto throughout her public service
career, and the essentially hereditary ascension of her son to her
party's leadership begs questions about its sincerity in seeking
meaningful democracy. But Benazir Bhutto's untimely death renders those
questions less relevant than the current leadership's attacks on
democracy and the rule of law. Parvez Musharraf's administration has
taken a sharp turn over the past year, destabilizing the country and
severely undermining freedom of the press, judicial independence,
individual liberties, and democratic transparency - all while relying on
ongoing White House support.

Over the past year, Musharraf - known here as =93Busharraf=94 on account of
Washington's role in propping up his failing dictatorship - has presided
over one of Pakistan's most turbulent periods in its 60-year history.
While claiming to address extremism, he has instead eviscerated the
nation's legal system, curtailed the media and hamstrung civil society,
thereby destroying Pakistan's strongest (both institutional and cultural)
defenses against fundamentalism. Having twice sacked the Supreme Court's
popular and independent Chief Justice and jailed the leaders of the
democracy movement, Musharraf has also imposed severe restrictions on the
press that continue to stifle debate. In this environment, violence is
all too predictable. And the enabling complicity of the U.S. should alarm
all observers.

A host of competing theories attempt to explain Bhutto's assassination.
The government predictably blamed al-Qaeda within a day, while offering a
theory of her death described by BBC as =93bizarre.=94

Noting Bhutto's prior comments that =93elements within the administration
and security apparatuses . . . want me out of the way,=94 members of her
family accused the government - either of killing her outright, or for
complicity by notorious rogue elements within the government, or at least
for offering inadequate security to her campaign - as Bhutto herself
alleged before the fact. American authorities have reportedly begun
investigating Pakistani special operations forces for their potential
involvement.

Others blame Bhutto's husband, Asif =93Mr. 10 Percent=94 Zardari, who
plundered state coffers during her rule, allegedly ordered the 1985 and
1996 murders of her brothers in order to eliminate their potential
political rivalry, and may have perceived opportunity in his wife's
removal. In the wake of her assassination, he refused an autopsy that may
have shed light on the cause and is now co-Chairman of the political
party she once led.

But regardless of which theory may ultimately prove accurate, each
possibility required (for cover, if nothing else) the aggressive presence
of extremists in Pakistan - whom Musharraf harbored while duping the U.S.
out of roughly $10 billion since 2001, of which allegedly half has been
consumed by graft.

Before a brutal show of force at the Lal Masjid this summer possibly
intended to impress western media clustered in Islamabad, Musharraf took
a soft stance towards terrorism in Pakistan's anarchic tribal areas. He
reached an agreement with tribal leaders, under whose noses Al-Qaeda
rebuilt itself after being (first trained in the 1970s, and then more
recently) expelled by the U.S. from Afghanistan. And Musharraf continues
to shelter atomic scientist A.Q. Khan, whose work on nuclear weapons made
him a national hero despite passing secrets to North Korea. All this from
a military dictator hailed by President Bush as his =93critical ally in the
War on Terror.=94

Earlier this year, opposition forces non-violently rose against Musharraf
to challenge martial law. The White House inexplicably maintained its
support for his regime, overlooking the subjugation of both the media and
judiciary while pressing for elections that can not possibly reflect the
preferences of the Pakistani people. Looming in just over a week, the
elections are beset by accusations of pervasive bias and lack any
pretense of freedom or fairness.

Bhutto returned to Pakistan this October, at the invitation of U.S.
officials eager to shore up Musharraf's flagging dictatorship with the
veneer of democratic legitimacy. She (and other members of the Pakistani
opposition) endured multiple violent attacks in order to challenge
Musharraf in the democratic arena, tolerating widespread accusations of
early vote-rigging and politicized election administration, as well as
restrictions on electioneering and media criticism of the dictatorship.
Like Iraqi Kurds and Shiites slaughtered by Saddam Hussein when Bush's
father failed to fulfill promises to support their revolution in the
1990s, she paid the ultimate price for answering the White House's call.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice suggested that, =93The way to honor
[Bhutto's] memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan . . .
.=94 But despite the younger Bush's rhetorical support for democracy
abroad, the reality of his defending dictatorship both poisoned
Pakistan's democratic aspirations and sealed Bhutto's doom. Whether at
the hands of extremists or the Pakistani government - or, more likely,
collusion among elements within them - Benazir Bhutto's blood stains
George Bush's hands.

While recovering from the tumult of riots and looting across their
country, and facing shattered hopes and an uncertain future, peaceful
Pakistanis must also confront their increasing inability to influence
events. Beset by terror and ruled by a dictator who derides the rule of
law, the most Pakistanis can hope for is that candidates to restore
sanity to the White House reverse America's catastrophic commitment to
its incoherent and counterproductive course, and allow the country a
chance at self-determination by suspending aid to Pakistan until its
judges and journalists are once again free.

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<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size=3D2>I received a mess=
age from DC Statehood Green Party's list-serve</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>that had a link to the following article f=
rom AlterNet:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>
<P style=3D"MARGIN-TOP: 10px"><A href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/audits/"><=
IMG height=3D50 alt=3DForeignPolicy src=3D"http://www.alternet.org/images/m=
anaged/Special+Coverage_fp-sc.gif" width=3D665 border=3D0></A> </P><!-- sta=
rt: headline and byline -->
<DIV style=3D"MARGIN-LEFT: 10px"><!-- start: headline -->
<P class=3Dsmalltitle>See more stories tagged with: <B><A href=3D"http://ww=
w.alternet.org/tags/musharraf/">musharraf</A>, <A href=3D"http://www.altern=
et.org/tags/bhutto/">bhutto</A>, <A href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/tags/bu=
sh/">bush</A>, <A href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/tags/pakistan/">pakistan<=
/A></B></P>
<P><I>Shahid Buttar is a Pakistani-American lawyer, scholar, media activist=
, poet, hip-hop MC, and</I><I>&nbsp;grassroots community organizer. He's cu=
rrently traveling throughout Pakistan to conduct an independent investigati=
on of events since the first removal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhury in=
 March, 2007. To read more articles or to listen to his music, visit <A hre=
f=3D"http://www.shahidbuttar.com/">www.ShahidButtar.com</A>.</I></P>
<P class=3Dstoryheadline><STRONG><FONT size=3D6>Bhutto's Blood Is on Bush's=
 Hands</FONT></STRONG></P><!-- end: headline --><!-- start: byline -->
<P class=3Dstorybyline><B>By <A title=3D"View all stories by Shahid Buttar"=
 href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/authors/8497/">Shahid Buttar</A>, <A href=
=3D"http://www.alternet.org/">AlterNet</A>. Posted <A title=3D"View all sto=
ries published on January 2, 2008" href=3D"http://www.alternet.org/ts/archi=
ves/?date[F]=3D01&amp;date[Y]=3D2008&amp;date[d]=3D02&amp;act=3DGo/">Januar=
y 2, 2008</A>.</B></P><BR><!-- end: byline --></DIV><!-- end: headline and =
byline --><!-- start: teaser -->
<DIV class=3Dteaser>
<DIV class=3Dteaserleft>The complicity of the U.S. in Pakistan's violence s=
hould alarm all observers.</DIV>
<DIV class=3Dteaserleft>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV class=3Dteaserleft>When news first broke of the assassination of forme=
r Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, I sat in the living room of a ju=
dge in Islamabad, glued to the television with an off-duty doctor from the =
hospital where Bhutto was taken. While the nation and the world continue to=
 reel from the violent death of a world-historical figure, relatively littl=
e attention has been paid to the central role of U.S. foreign policy in her=
 demise. </DIV>
<DIV class=3Dteaserleft>
<P>A great many voices have commented on Bhutto's immense historical statur=
e. Others have noted the tremendous loss her death represents to the people=
 of Pakistan and its grave implications for the nation's democracy. Benazir=
 Bhutto was a forceful champion for the downtrodden, the most effective int=
ernational diplomat Pakistan has ever produced, and an inspiration to milli=
ons (and possibly even billions) of people stirred by her service as the Mu=
slim world's first female head of state. </P>
<P>Allegations of corruption dogged Bhutto throughout her public service ca=
reer, and <A>the essentially hereditary ascension of her son to her party's=
 leadership</A> begs questions about its sincerity in seeking meaningful de=
mocracy. But Benazir Bhutto's untimely death renders those questions less r=
elevant than the current leadership's attacks on democracy and the rule of =
law. Parvez Musharraf's administration has taken a sharp turn over the past=
 year, destabilizing the country and severely undermining freedom of the pr=
ess, judicial independence, individual liberties, and democratic transparen=
cy - all while relying on ongoing White House support.</P>
<P>Over the past year, Musharraf - known here as =93Busharraf=94 on account=
 of Washington's role in propping up his failing dictatorship - has preside=
d over one of Pakistan's most turbulent periods in its 60-year history. Whi=
le claiming to address extremism, he has instead eviscerated the nation's l=
egal system, curtailed the media and hamstrung civil society, thereby destr=
oying Pakistan's strongest (both institutional and cultural) defenses again=
st fundamentalism. Having twice sacked the Supreme Court's popular and inde=
pendent Chief Justice and jailed the leaders of the democracy movement, Mus=
harraf has also imposed severe restrictions on the press that continue to s=
tifle debate. In this environment, violence is all too predictable. And the=
 enabling complicity of the U.S. should alarm all observers.</P>
<P>A host of competing theories attempt to explain Bhutto's assassination. =
<A>The government predictably blamed al-Qaeda</A> within a day, while offer=
ing a theory of her death described by BBC as =93bizarre.=94 </P>
<P>Noting Bhutto's prior comments that =93<A>elements within the administra=
tion and security apparatuses . . . want me out of the way</A>,=94 members =
of her family accused the government - either of <A>killing her outright</A=
>, or for complicity by <A>notorious rogue elements within the government</=
A>, or at least for offering inadequate security to her campaign - <A>as Bh=
utto herself alleged before the fact</A>. American authorities have reporte=
dly <A>begun investigating Pakistani special operations forces</A> for thei=
r potential involvement.</P>
<P>Others blame Bhutto's husband, Asif =93Mr. 10 Percent=94 Zardari, who pl=
undered state coffers during her rule, allegedly ordered the 1985 and 1996 =
murders of her brothers in order to eliminate their potential political riv=
alry, and may have perceived <A>opportunity in his wife's removal</A>. In t=
he wake of her assassination, <A>he refused an autopsy that may have shed l=
ight</A> on the cause and <A>is now co-Chairman of the political party</A> =
she once led.</P></DIV>
<DIV class=3Dteaserleft>
<P>But regardless of which theory may ultimately prove accurate, each possi=
bility required (for cover, if nothing else) the aggressive presence of ext=
remists in Pakistan - whom Musharraf harbored while <A>duping the U.S. out =
of roughly $10 billion since 2001</A>, of which allegedly half has been con=
sumed by graft. </P>
<P>Before a brutal show of force at the Lal Masjid this summer possibly int=
ended to impress western media clustered in Islamabad, <A>Musharraf took a =
soft stance towards terrorism</A> in Pakistan's anarchic tribal areas. He r=
eached an agreement with tribal leaders, under whose noses Al-Qaeda rebuilt=
 itself after being (first trained in the 1970s, and then more recently) ex=
pelled by the U.S. from Afghanistan. And Musharraf continues to shelter ato=
mic scientist A.Q. Khan, whose work on nuclear weapons made him a national =
hero despite passing secrets to North Korea. All this from a military dicta=
tor hailed by President Bush as his =93critical ally in the War on Terror.=
=94</P>
<P>Earlier this year, opposition forces non-violently rose against Musharra=
f to challenge martial law. The White House inexplicably maintained its sup=
port for his regime, overlooking the subjugation of both the media and judi=
ciary while pressing for elections that can not possibly reflect the prefer=
ences of the Pakistani people. Looming in just over a week, the elections a=
re beset by accusations of pervasive bias and lack any pretense of freedom =
or fairness. </P>
<P>Bhutto returned to Pakistan this October, at the invitation of U.S. offi=
cials eager to shore up Musharraf's flagging dictatorship with the veneer o=
f democratic legitimacy. She (and other members of the Pakistani opposition=
) endured multiple violent attacks in order to challenge Musharraf in the d=
emocratic arena, tolerating widespread accusations of early vote-rigging an=
d politicized election administration, as well as restrictions on electione=
ering and media criticism of the dictatorship. Like Iraqi Kurds and Shiites=
 slaughtered by Saddam Hussein when Bush's father failed to fulfill promise=
s to support their revolution in the 1990s, she paid the ultimate price for=
 answering the White House's call.</P>
<P>Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice suggested that, =93The way to honor [=
Bhutto's] memory is to continue the democratic process in Pakistan . . . .=
=94 But despite the younger Bush's rhetorical support for democracy abroad,=
 the reality of his defending dictatorship both poisoned Pakistan's democra=
tic aspirations and sealed Bhutto's doom. Whether at the hands of extremist=
s or the Pakistani government - or, more likely, collusion among elements w=
ithin them - Benazir Bhutto's blood stains George Bush's hands.</P>
<P>While recovering from the tumult of riots and looting across their count=
ry, and facing shattered hopes and an uncertain future, peaceful Pakistanis=
 must also confront their increasing inability to influence events. Beset b=
y terror and ruled by a dictator who derides the rule of law, the most Paki=
stanis can hope for is that candidates to restore sanity to the White House=
 reverse America's catastrophic commitment to its incoherent and counterpro=
ductive course, and allow the country a chance at self-determination by sus=
pending aid to Pakistan until its judges and journalists are once again fre=
e.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV><BR>

--=20
<div> Got No Time? Shop Online for <a href=3Dhttp://mail.shopping.com/?link=
in_id=3D8033174 target=3D"_blank"> <b> Great Gift Ideas!</b></a><br>
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