It seems the Bhutto supporters are just burning and looting their own stuff. How is that for corrupt or maybe just stupid? I doubt 'the militants' responsible run the train stations or the banks.

I was wondering the same thing. She was married in 1988, so the oldest one can't be more than 18. I found this (undated) picture of her with her three kids:

Corruption has been part of power since day one of civilization. Her run for that position was the right thing to do for much of the world, and sometimes you have to take whatever means necessary to accomplish that mission. I don't believe there is a leader on this planet who is NOT corrupt, so those charges to me are irrelevant.

Al Quaeda has been reported to have taken responsibility for this assassination (and yeah, I too caught the "ass" thing in that word!). I heard that this morning. Their number two guy was the alleged mastermind of the whole thing and is bragging about it all over the place.

Now the American politicians are already using their relationships with her in their own campaigns. I hope they're at least somewhat sincere about it and they're not total vultures. Political pundits say that McCain and Hilary have the most to gain from their relationships with Bhutto.

It sounds like Bhutto's party is still going to put someone into the race in her place, which is good news. I would hate to see those bastards win because of this act.

Bullets didn't kill her after all.


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Benazir Bhutto died from a skull fracture suffered when her head slammed against her car during a suicide attack — not from bullet wounds, the government said Friday.

Pakistan's interior minister blamed al-Qaida and the Taliban for Thursday's assassination and said another key opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, is also under threat of militant attack.

The government released a transcript Friday of a purported conversation between militant leader Baitullah Mehsud and another militant.

"It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," Mehsud said, according to the transcript.

Authorities on Thursday said Bhutto died from bullet wounds fired by a young man who then blew himself up, killing 20 other people. A surgeon who treated her said Friday she died from the impact of shrapnel on her skull.

But later Friday, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said all three shots missed her as she greeted supporters through the sunroof of her vehicle, which was bulletproof and bombproof.

He also denied that shrapnel caused her death, saying Bhutto was killed when she tried to duck back into the vehicle, and the shock waves from the blast knocked her head into a lever attached to the sunroof, fracturing her skull.

At a news conference, Cheema played a videotape of the attack showing Bhutto waving, smiling and chatting with supporters from the sunroof as her car sat unmoving on the street outside a campaign rally. Three gunshots rang out, the camera appeared to fall, and the tape ended.

Bhutto was slain while campaigning for the crucial Jan. 8 parliamentary elections in which she hoped to return as prime minister of the nuclear-armed country, a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. Upon her return from exile in October, she survived an assassination attempt. She had repeatedly complained that the government of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf did not give her adequate security.

As word of her death spread, her supporters blamed Musharraf of complicity in her assassination.

On Friday, Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told The Associated Press that the government had evidence that al-Qaida and Taliban were behind the suicide attack.

Later, Cheema blamed Mehsud, described him as an "al-Qaida leader" and said he was also behind the Oct. 18 bombing against Bhutto's homecoming parade through Karachi that killed more than 140 people.

Mehsud is a commander of pro-Taliban forces in the lawless Pakistani tribal region South Waziristan, where al-Qaida fighters are also active. His forces often attack Pakistani security forces.

This fall, he was quoted in a Pakistani newspaper as saying that he would welcome Bhutto's return from exile with suicide bombers. Mehsud later denied that in statements to local television and newspaper reporters.

Cheema said Mehsud was "behind most of the recent terrorist attacks that have taken place in Pakistan."

He said Pakistani security forces would hunt down those responsible for Bhutto's death.

Cheema also said Sharif — also a former prime minister and now the most prominent opposition leader in Pakistan — was among several politicians under threat of militant attack.

He named others as Fazlur Rehman, the leader of an Islamist opposition party; former Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close ally of President Pervez Musharraf; and former Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, who narrowly escaped a suicide bombing last weekend that killed 56 people.

Pakistan: Bhutto died of skull fracture - Yahoo! News

this is SO sad.
had she somehow ducked down without hitting the sunroof.. she'd have survived the attack.

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I don't believe she died from hitting a handle with her head.... it's sounds too goofy ... I dunno if it's even possible, can somebody die that way?

With a bomb blast anything is possible.

Still, in this case, some skepticism seems warranted.

her oldest kid--her son--i heard was around 19 years old. and i think he studies in england?

but about butto -- i don't think she was as great as some people are making her out to be.. she was involved in money laundering scandals and such. i think she's also a very corrupt politician. but i still like her better than musharraf right now.
i heard that musharraf said that the upcoming elections (on january 8th i think) will go on as usual, which makes me a bit worried, because isn't his main opposition dead now? what i mean is, is that i liked the fact that with bhutto there the people at least had a real choice on who to vote for in the next election.

on a more personal level though, i am still shocked by her death. in pre-partitioned india, my great grandfather used to be friends with bhutto's father. they would often have tea together, and they were from the same village. i always paid attention whenever she was in the news, because of our distant connections i guess.

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No surprises there. Even a Chicago Tribune reporter in Pakistan has serious reservations about the official cause of death.

Musharraf is going to have to let an independent panel investigate her death. Otherwise, he's going to have a civil war on his hands.

Bhutto's party to mull future | Top News | Reuters

Apparently her 19 year old son has been named Chairman of the party. Pretty shitty thing to confer on a recently bereaved teenager. "Congratulations, now most militants want to kill you. Have a nice day!"

My god you are thick. I hope you hit your head on an armoured car.