[Darius]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7161590.stm

Pakistan's opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack.

A tragedy for Pakistan, just when there was a real hope that they can reconcile the fundamentalist Islamic activists and those wanting proper democratic process

*sits back and watches the country continue to tear apart*

[karajorma]

Yeah. I just saw that on the news. It's a real pisser and no mistake.

With luck this will actually sicken many of those wavering and actually help draw support away from the extremists like when ETA basically destroyed any support they had in Spain by killing a judge.

[Rictor]

Is it suspected that Islamic elements did this, or rogue ISI? Because if there's even a hint of Musharraf being behind it, it's going to drive the majority of Pakistanis to Sharif. If not, Musharraf could actually benefit by playing to "we have to get tough on the Muslim parties" line.

Anyway, rest in peace.

[vyper]

Musharraf loses either way. If the public believes that Islamic Militants are to blame, they will decry him for failing to stop them sooner. If they don't, then the only logical alternative is to blame the state. His state.

Musharraf, right or wrong, has no way to win this one.

[karajorma]

Yep. While in the long run I can possibly see this going well for him I very much doubt he's behind it. It's kinda like burning down your house for the insurance money...while you remain inside so as to not get charged for arson.

[Asuko]

Well then. This is potentially damning.

This will more likely than not kill a bit of support for Musharraf, yes. It'll also disillusion quite a bit of people from politics in general.

[Unknown Target]

Just a weird tidbit I caught here:

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency session and later said it "unanimously condemned" the assassination.

Wow. They sure did a lot with that one, didn't they? All hail the mighty UN for saving us all. And on top of that, who would actually condone an assassination anyway?

[TrashMan]

UN is impotent. No ammount of viagra can get that sucker up and runing.

[Asuko]

That's one way to put it. It's a pity it's the way it is.

[karajorma]

Wow. They sure did a lot with that one, didn't they? All hail the mighty UN for saving us all. And on top of that, who would actually condone an assassination anyway?

The USA?

I think the emergency session was more about them running around and shouting "What the **** is going to happen in Pakistan now!" than the statement.

[Asuko]

Oh wow, that website is hilarious. Nice design too.

I'd have to agree. The immediate result is riots, as shown already. The long term affects . . . hmm.

[Unknown Target]

Wow. They sure did a lot with that one, didn't they? All hail the mighty UN for saving us all. And on top of that, who would actually condone an assassination anyway?

The USA?

I think the emergency session was more about them running around and shouting "What the **** is going to happen in Pakistan now!" than the statement.

More specifically, I meant what country would go into a meeting of the UN and yell out that they were glad she was killed?

[an0n]

Can anyone say 'CIA'?

[Unknown Target]

Not me. The US has nothing to gain and a lot to lose by her death. Meanwhile, a lot of people in that country hated her enough to kill her.

[an0n]

It's win-win for the US.

Either it drives Pakistan into having an anti-extremist government, or it turns the country into a cluster**** and helps the propaganda war against Islam.

[Asuko]

It's win-win for the US.

Either it drives Pakistan into having an anti-extremist government, or it turns the country into a cluster**** and helps the propaganda war against Islam.

You call that a win-win? The hell's wrong with you.

[Unknown Target]

It's win-win for the US.

Either it drives Pakistan into having an anti-extremist government, or it turns the country into a cluster**** and helps the propaganda war against Islam.

an0n, what's probably going to happen is the current leader is going to use this and the subsequent riots as an excuse to crack down on the country. And the second one, Pakistan becoming a cluster****, doesn't help the US at all.

If you're going to spout the usual anti-US rhetoric, at least be intelligent about it.

EDIT: By the way, why are we starting an anti-US rhetoric in this thread? Get back on topic, until something is proven, this has nothing to do (and probably won't have anythign to do) with the US.

[an0n]

Pakistan has nuclear weapons.

Aside from it being a perfect opportunity to go "OMG BROWN PEOPLE WITH NUKES!" and further the propaganda war by ranting about muslims and nukes and how close Pakistan is to Iraq, it also means the US can strengthen it's case for having a missile defence system built in Europe, this helps them reign in and piss off the Russians.

All the Russians can do once their missiles are useless is go "**** Europe" and cut off the gas, forcing Europe to rely on American and British petrochemical companies for fuel.

Oh, and the Russians won't cut off Europe from oil, because oil control and money is virtually the only thing propping the Russian government up - it'd be suicide to stop their own and biggest flow of cash. Not only that, but the missile defense system has been proven to be almost useless - it won't do anything about "reigning in" the Russians.

[Unknown Target]

A destabilization of a nuclear power is against everyone's interests, the US included. I know the fad is to assume that the US has an evil hand in everything in the entire world, but honestly, I don't think anyone in power in the US's government wants terrorists with nukes. Also, if you haven't noticed, there are no indications that the US is going "OMG BROWN PEOPLE WITH NUKES". Lastly, I have not heard anything about the US and it's missile defense system, and honestly, they don't need an excuse to build it there - they don't have one now, this won't suddenly change everyone's minds.

[Darius]

A destabilised Pakistan is the last thing the US (and UK) wants. Once the mess has been resolved in Afghanistan, they don't need the entire northwest of Pakistan for the Taliban to run back to. Wasn't that how they were able to regain their strength before?