Biden: I urged protection for Bhutto last fall [View All]

[jillan]

I posted about this when he did this -

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=404x2349
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Sen. Joe Biden said today he twice urged Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to provide a strong security detail for Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto in her return to the nation, but stopped short of blaming him or the Pakistani government for Bhutto�s death in a suicide bombing.

In a letter written to Musharraf Oct. 24, Biden, along with Sens. Joe Lieberman and Patrick Leahy, lay out specific security suggestions, including government-provided, bomb-proof vehicles, jamming equipment, and offers of U.S. resources to investigate the first attempt on Bhutto�s life; a suicide bomb attack at a welcoming rally that killed 140 Pakistanis.

�The failure to protect Mrs. Bhutto raises a lot of hard questions for the government and security services that have to be answered,� he said at a hastily-staged press conference at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Des Moines. �And they need to be answered by a transparent and full investigation.�

The letter garnered little reaction, Biden said. However, he would not add whether the Pakistani government deliberately left Bhutto exposed, saying he didn�t know what security Bhutto had when the attack took place.

�Even if the security was not as I specifically recommended does not mean it�s rational to draw a conclusion that the government wanted to see her assassinated,� he said.

Biden clarified that he would not yet call for Musharraf to step down, saying that speculation on who is responsible could range from al Qaida to Musharraf.

�This is a moment of significant turmoil, we don�t have all the facts, and it is important that there be a free and fair election,� he said.

Biden added that though he is a presidential candidate, he held the press conference as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Biden, who has known Bhutto since 1988, said after the first attack in October did not lead her to directly say whether she thought the government was offering enough protection. He paused for a moment to reflect upon what he considered Bhutto�s courage in returning to Pakistan to push for a free secular government.

�I personally liked her. It�s just sad to have someone who you know, where I knew that she knew this was a distinct possibility. It took a lot of courage. This is a courageous woman. How many leaders in the world would do what she did?�
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071227/NEWS/71227016/-1/NEWS04