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BBC just played an interview with a former Bhutto advisor.  He said something like this:  "Rawalpindi is the most secure city in all of Pakistan.  There are intelligence operatives everywhere."  He said if Rawalpindi wasn't secure enough to hold a political rally, then "there is something very, very wrong with the way Musharraf is running Pakistan."

And this perspective will be a problem for Musharraf -- he's supposed to be the "security and stability" option, right?  But if he can guarantee neither security nor stability....  no surprise he will be blamed, either by people who think he's directly responsible or by those who hold him responsible for the overall security climate in Pakistan.

And on that, they have a point.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Dec 27th, 2007 at 10:21:24 AM EST
Vinod at Sepia Mutiny has updated his post and makes a similar point, more succinctly worded than mine:

"What's worse, that Musharaff may have had a role in this or that he was powerless to stop it?"

Vinod also points to the Getty Images photo archive, for photos of the scene, and there's a slideshow on Yahoo news that includes both images from the scene and file photos of Bhutto.

by the stormy present (stormypresent aaaaaaat gmail etc) on Thu Dec 27th, 2007 at 10:38:53 AM EST
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Yes, that's the scary question.

keep to the Fen Causeway
by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Thu Dec 27th, 2007 at 10:51:09 AM EST
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I think Pervez has said as much, re: not really being able to protect her.
by paving on Thu Dec 27th, 2007 at 01:46:15 PM EST
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This is not really relevant I think.

A reporter on the Swedish radio described how things had been when she was travelling with Butto a few months ago.

Chaos everywhere. Trampling estathic crowds, pushing, hugging Butto so hard she lost her breath, shouting as loud as they could in her ears and so on. She didn't seem to mind in the least, nor did her aides or the soldiers escorting them.

So, the idea that they cared much about security is not really relevant.

Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.

by Starvid on Fri Dec 28th, 2007 at 04:00:22 AM EST
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