29 Dec 2007

Bhutto Conspiracy Theories

In the 24 hours since a lone attacker assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, the rumor mill has again been working overtime. Not only are there conflicting reports of how Bhutto died — from bullet wounds or from a bomb blast that followed or from fracturing her skull against her car's sun-roof as the assailant blew himself up — but many Pakistanis are pointing the finger of blame at President Pervez Musharraf and his allies in Washington.

bhuttokogelOn jihadi websites, al-Qaeda claimed the assassination was their work and intelligence officials in both Pakistan and the U.S. agree that Islamic extremists from al-Qaeda or the Taliban were probably responsible for the devastating attack. But as Musharraf's popularity has slipped badly, moderate and religious Pakistanis alike have begun to blame him for the increasing chaos in their country — and to trace every incident directly to his rule and his high-profile allies. "This assassination was fabricated by the present government," says Liaqat Baloch, a senior official in Jamaat-e-Islami, one of Pakistan's main Islamic parties. "It is part of the American strategy to scare people that Pakistan is falling apart."

Bhutto Conspiracy Theories Fill the Air - TIME

 

See the actual shooting below:

 

Also see this on Democratic Underground.com:"How quickly will people fixate on specific Bhutto conspiracy theories?"

And right on cue, shortly after former Pakistani premier Bhutto's own slaying, key al-Qaeda news items appear. Like "senior US officials" are checking into an al-Qaeda claim of responsibility for the assassination, and—lo and behold—"Osama" himself will soon release a message regarding Iraq.

 

Remember Operation Cyclone? "Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, concerned of the growing strength of the Islamist movement, told President George H. W. Bush, "You are creating a Frankenstein". More here