Dressed in an elegant emerald shalwar kameez and with a white headscarf slipping from her hair, she stood up after the salmon roulade and chicken supreme to lay down her vision of the future. "I believe that we are at this time at a critical fork between democracy and dictatorship, and between moderation and extremism," she said, saying that the stakes could not be higher for her nuclear-armed country and for the world.
"I know that there is a school of thought which claims that extremism can better be confronted by a military-backed regime," she went on. "As such, some see a controlled dictatorship as a stable and reliable ally, rather than a truly elected government that has the support of the people.
"It will not surprise you to know that I disagree with this view quite vigorously. I think it is a strategic miscalculation that can have a dysfunctional impact in the battle against violent fanaticism, bigotry and hate which today pose the most serious threat to Pakistan's internal security."
Also you can read Mark Steyn's account from a half-personal note: in London he lived near where Bhutto was living during part of her exile.
Finally, Reuters reports that our old friends al-Qaeda top the suspect list. It harkens the post I made on this blog mere hours ago where I talked about allying with terrorists. Bush was probably one of the few western leaders who wasn't gushing with Bhutto-fervor...the President was characteristically taking a more pragmatic view, not wishing to dethrone Musharraf nor stifle his possible competition. But the rest of the west's leaders were totally behind the woman whom the terrorists they refuse to valiently fight decided to off. How disgustingly appropriate.
As the violence and bloodshed escalates in Pakistan, it's time to revisit the Gandhi Principle:
One billion people may want you to be alive, but their votes are
defeated by the one person who wants you dead.
defeated by the one person who wants you dead.
