Bhutto points finger over blasts: Who turned off the street lights?

[malaise]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7052310.stm
<snip>
Former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto has accused former army officials of being behind twin bomb attacks on her convoy that killed more than 130 people.

In her first public statement since the blast, she told a news conference that before the bombing, shots had been fired at her vehicle to stop it. It was unclear whether the driver had been disabled by this gunfire, she said.


Ms Bhutto also called for an inquiry into why the street lights along her route had been switched off, saying security guards would have spotted suicide bombers if the street lights had been on.

[alstephenson]

1. But, but, but...

I heard on the news this morning that it was Al-Qaeda!

[Kagemusha]

2. ...From who?

Bhutto's own husband pointed the finger straight at Musharraf's security/ intelligence forces. Bhutto says it's followers of some former Pakistani dictator whose name I can't even remember.

[malaise]

4. Ul Haq who was killed in a plane crash with

the US ambassador.

[alstephenson]

7. Ooops! I forgot my "Sarcasm" smiley!!!

[Kagemusha]

8. No, I read it right.. I'm just wondering in my own innocent way, who said that?

I guess CNN did? I just used the opportunity to feed more information onto the boards here. Because pointing fingers are flying everywhere over this.

Not like I know who did this either.

[Igel]

13. It's the obvious choice.

One maulana, Rehman I think his name was, made threats. He's Islamist. MMA. And a big Taliban supporter.

You go up into the hinterland, and you find warlords sort of in bed with the Islamists. And the Islamists are Taliban supporters and allied with the remnants of AQ. They have fallings out with some components from time to time--most recently, I think, some Uzbek AQ, but my memory's sketchy on that point.

The Zia ul-Haq (or Zia-ul Haq) tie-in comes from the time of his rule. CIA supported the jihadniki up in Afghanistan, which was fine by Haq: He was courting a powerbase among the Deobandi (lic. Islamists), helping to beef up the madaris and instituting some of the most repressive bits of shari'a in Pakistan. He was working on creating an Islamist Republic, not just an Islamic Republic. He got a lot of pro-Taliban/pro-Islamist guys into the ISI, the intelligence service. When he left, many of the low- and middle-rung guys stayed (some of the top dogs stayed, too ... Bhutto was a wimp, and as far as evil military dictators go, Musharraf is a wuss).

Musharraf managed to get rid of some of the ISI Islamists. Not all. And his attempts--and partial success--to reign in the fundie madaris didn't endear him to the mullahs. So the "former" status of the intelligence and army officers Bhutto's pointing out is probably due to Musharraf. Maybe not, Sharif and Bhutto didn't keep *everybody* around.

And the Islamists are truly pissed at how he's tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to deal with the Waziristan/NWFP Islamist nightmare.

Notice that saying "AQ", "Taliban", "Islamists", former army and former ISI officers all point to the same group, although not the same individuals. Still, there are contacts between them.

(On 9/12/01 I decided that it paid to read the Pak press whenever possible. I don't get everything, to be sure, but it certainly helps to keep track of what's what, and points out stories that'll be in the NYT sometime next month.)

[malaise]

3. Of course the right wing press are playing it that way

Be wary of spinterviews.

[Snarkoleptic]

5. Make me wonder what Bushco will do to retain power when faced with democratic elections.

[RC]

6. I heard that also. As soon as I did my next thought was

"How was our government involved in this." It is my understanding al Qaeda did not exist till dick Cheney invented them.

[madrchsod]

9. she was on the bbc america broadcast. tonight

she mentioned the just about everyone that does`t like her coming back..there was a pakistani pundit that said pretty much the same thing. the expanded bbc america news is great.

[Disturbed]

10. There have been at least four attempt to assassinate Musharef.

It seems that Bhutto will not live too long if she stays in Pakistan.

[Igel]

11. Which is, of course, something that's conveniently overlooked.

I saw one article that this was the first time the Islamists (if it was them, odds are it was) actually aimed at the real power structure in Pakistan. Then again, I guess a military dictator that's in power doesn't count as "power structure" compared there's a woman democrat that might stand for election.

[malaise]

14. Overlooked? Who overlooks that?

A woman democrat - who is she? Look Benazir is as corrupt as her father (who was hanged), Ul Haq and the US ambassador (whose plane crashed and killed them), Mushie and the rest of the gang. Benazir is just the latest US puppet. They all created the Mujahideen for the US so put simply this is their collective mess. Mjuahideen...Taliban...Al Qaeda..Mushie -it's all their doing. Thank Kissinger, Dick and GHW.

[DS1]

12. Other reports indicate that a large American looking penis was spotted fleeing the scene

along with a small Secret Service details.

Bill Clinton was unavailable for comment

[SOteric]

15. deleted.