Sad and stunning. And given how tumultuous Pakistan can get, things will get very chaotic.

I grew up in New Delhi - and even though I was a kid I remember the chaos that followed Indira Gandhi's assasination. Reckon this will be similar and senseless violence will ensue. Sucks!

She was someone I admired a great deal and her death is a big shock...
I wonder how much instability will follow now?

A horribly tragic day - not only has an amazing woman lost her life, but the Pakistani women and children have lost an inspiring and empowering role model and supporter - Bhutto was an intelligent, articulate, outspoken, compassionate woman who was killed not only for her political ideals and affiliations, but also because she was a woman who defied the submissive role traditional Islamic fundamentalists impose upon women - a very sad day for all women, worldwide.

I guess Nawaz Sharif is the only hope for Pakistani democracy now. Let's hope that the US doesn't try to prop up Musharraf's rule in response to this.

I guess Nawaz Sharif is the only hope for Pakistani democracy now. Let's hope that the US doesn't try to prop up Musharraf's rule in response to this.

Shocking and sad, indeed. It's only a matter of time before Musharraf is killed, though. And I doubt the U.S. is going to say anything, given their idiocy in Iraq right now.

While it is sad whenever such a thing happens let us not forget that a lot of cozying up between CIA and Taliban happened under her watch. Most of the Kashmir problem in India was also revived by her. She also promised a lot for women during election but followed through on absolutely nothing and she was famously corrupt.

I'm an international Relations student and played her in a simulation. I really admired her as well. But we should also remember her flaws. Sometimes she used undemocratic means to foster democracy, and as a representative of Pakistan she was just as hard line on the Kashmiri conflict.

She wasn't just hardline, she restarted most of the Kashmiri conflict. She also aided the cozying up between Taliban and CIA. She was also famously corrupt. Not that anyone deserves to be assassinated but her death should not be used as a means to gloss over significant problems with the way she ruled. Also, feminism-wise, she promised to repeal hudood and zina ordinances, which affect women, but forgot about them once she was elected.

Whoops. Sorry, I kept getting 500 Internal error or something, I didn't know I was flooding here.

A lot of hope has died today.

I dont know her politics, but I was anxious to see the women lead. She seems like another Hypatia.

I dont know her politics, but I was anxious to see the women lead. She seems like another Hypatia.

I'm just sick about this. Sick. I really don't have much to say right now about this.

Bhutto was a wise and powerful woman, and the fact that she did so much in a misogynist culture is even more astounding. She was a voice to the people disenfranchised by the dual evils of the extremist jihadists, and of the military dictatorship. And her returning to Pakistan, knowing full well that something like this was likely to happen, speaks volumes about her bravery. Like many world leaders, she was not without her demons -- the corruption allegations that led to her ouster in 1990 seemed to have at least a grain of truth to them -- but she was one of the most remarkable and inspirational women of our times.

I was travelling home from family christmas today and saw this on the news in a McDonalds. I just felt like punching something out of frustration. How much worse can things get over there?

I am so shocked. I shouldn't be, but I am. The world will miss her. i want to light a candle for her tonight.

Heartbreaking. This just came to me after reading the news this morning.
http://ravenlaughing.livejournal.com/539947.html

Heartbreaking. This just came to me after reading the news this morning.
http://ravenlaughing.livejournal.com/539947.html

I also considered Ms. Bhutto inspiring for her pioneering role in politics and as a female leader. I was very sorry to read of this incident.

Two things I find sad:

1) Virtually no Americans (Dem/Rep, male/female, feminist/non) know who Benazir Bhutto was. Before the assassination, I bet a fraction of 1% had heard of her. How many of you have heard of Sheikh Hasina? My point exactly.

2) My parents vaguely knew Bhutto in college. Said she was friendly and generous. But have no illusions: politically, she was not above corruption, and she was not above manipulating age-old hatreds to serve her agenda. My point is, contrary to what many on this site think, the world is not Good vs. Evil.

mamis62, I'm curious as to where you get the idea that many on this site think in such Manichean terms. It is possible to admire someone who is imperfect, afterall.

Sorry to burst everyone's bubble, but it's not too amazing that she rose to power. She may have been a woman but she had a father who was assassinated; her rise to power merely is in following with the dynasty-like successions characteristic of charade democracies.

My sadness is reserved for all the innocent bystanders who died and were injured due to Bhutto's lax security and inability to recognize that her public presence was a danger to all those around her, and for all those who are going to be hurt in the inevitable ensuing riots.

Pakistan is not a pretty place. I was there this summer, and it was corrupt on the physical and political level. Any high-level politician there is corrupt by definition.

This is terrible news for Pakistan. A blow like this a mere two weeks after Musharraf lifted the state of emergency could be the crippling strike to democracy in the entire country. As for Bhutto, I wouldn't say I admired her for several reasons (corruption, saying she would help the rights of women in Pakistan and then not doing it once in power, etc.), but I definitely respected her. She could have done a lot in Pakistan to try to bring the country closer to the West, but sadly that has all been cut short.

mamis62, I'm curious as to where you get the idea that many on this site think in such Manichean terms. It is possible to admire someone who is imperfect, afterall.

I agree completely with sentence #2; MLK Jr. is a great example. But it seems that the ONLY reason commenters here give for admiring Bhutto are that she was a Muslim leader with two X chromosomes, and she matched Western standards of intelligence and charisma. That's just naive. Hell, Interpol had a warrant for her arrest at the time of her assassination.

And as for where I get the idea that posts here are binary and simplistic: I read them. The simple posts (Are the lacrosse players guilty? Is the focus on Britney's weight due to MSM sexism?) get a hundred comments. The "what do you think about the Bhutto assassination" posts get e-tumbleweeds. People here don't want complexity; they want bad guys.

Anyhow, I don't mean to trash Bhutto; I doubt she was worse than anyone else in high positions in Pakistan. For all I know, the corruption stuff could've come from her scumbag husband and/or her scumbag opponents. But you simply can't become a head of state in that part of the world without being cruel and opportunistic.

mamis62, I'm curious as to where you get the idea that many on this site think in such Manichean terms. It is possible to admire someone who is imperfect, afterall.

I agree completely with sentence #2; MLK Jr. is a great example. But it seems that the ONLY reason commenters here give for admiring Bhutto are that she was a Muslim leader with two X chromosomes, and she matched Western standards of intelligence and charisma. That's just naive. Hell, Interpol had a warrant for her arrest at the time of her assassination.

And as for where I get the idea that posts here are binary and simplistic: I read them. The simple posts (Are the lacrosse players guilty? Is the focus on Britney's weight due to MSM sexism?) get a hundred comments. The "what do you think about the Bhutto assassination" posts get e-tumbleweeds. People here don't want complexity; they want bad guys.

Anyhow, I don't mean to trash Bhutto; I doubt she was worse than anyone else in high positions in Pakistan. For all I know, the corruption stuff could've come from her scumbag husband and/or her scumbag opponents. But you simply can't become a head of state in that part of the world without being cruel and opportunistic.

I sort of viewed Bhutto as Pakistan't Evita. Corrupt, but really part of the people. Not someone I can wholly admire, but I can see why she was loved.

I am far more concerned about Pakistan now. I am hoping that this doesn't devolve into a revolution or war. If al-Qaeda did set up the assassination, I hope that the Pakistanis in Waziristan run them out on a rail.

Could one of the anti-Bhutto commenters please give us some information about this so-called corruption of hers? Everything I've read about involved her husband's dealings, and I've never seen any suggestion that she was more corrupt than any other politician in Pakistan. And Heina, you're blaming her for campaigning at a rally, after Musharraf smirked and told her that if she dared to appear as a candidate, he couldn't guarantee her security? I guess she should have stayed home and let him keep his coup-power until the next dude marched in by force and violence.

Bhutto is not my favourite female politician in this world. She'd never come close. The corruption charges were leveled against her and her husband and it would seem quite naive to think that she was completely unaware of her husband's dealings. It would also seem like an insult to her intelligence.

Benazir Bhutto was also rumoured to have been responsible for the assassination of her brothers although vehemently denied by her and complete lack of evidence.

I understand that one would like to be more "understanding" when it comes to minorities scaling up the power platform in a field as cut throat-ish as politics, but I'm not comfortable with putting a leader on a pedestal simply because she fulfills the minority criteria.

Moreover, Bhutto's claim to power was through her father's fame and family money. Still, I guess it takes guts to overcome the odds that a female would face in a patriarchal society. But guts aren't what makes a person admirable imho.

For those interested in a glimpse into Benazir Bhutto's personality, maybe I could recommend Dalrymple's The Age of Kali that has an article featuring an interview the author had with her.

-anin

Is there proof of all this Bhutto corruption? Because frankly some of these posts remind me of the "body count" that has been attributed to Clinton, Lincoln, etc.

When a politician is killed while running for office, after being denied requested protection, and then the powers that be try to attribute it to an accident rather than murder (saying she hit her on the sunroof, wasn't really shot) -- THAT sounds like corruption to me.

I cried when I heard that Bhutto was dead, although I suspected she would be killed. I don't know her life well, but from her photos and news stories I see a regal and powerful woman who risked her life to return from exile and seek to bring her country back toward democracy. Her murder is tragic.
I am in mourning.

Yes, there is plenty of proof that Bhutto was unbelievably corrupt -- more corrupt even than you need to be to govern in that part of the world. She was charismatic, brilliant, striking and articulate -- but she was no leader of the people, and she represented no hope for the future of Pakistan.

Her death is a tragedy because it puts the cap on a wasted life. Not because she was any great resource to her country.

John Burns' article on Bhutto's corruption, although ten years old, is a good source to start learning about her misdeeds.

http://www.samsloan.com/benazir.htm

Also, the fact that foreign governments, who were disinterested parties, had tons of evidence of her corruption should count for something.

Apostate: John Burns' article on Bhutto's corruption, although ten years old, is a good source to start learning about her misdeeds.

Yes, that's an excellent article.

Which pretty much guarantees it will never be read by a Feministing poster. They're all too busy talking about Jami-Lynn Spears.

The "what do you think about the Bhutto assassination" posts get e-tumbleweeds. People here don't want complexity; they want bad guys.

Oh, really? Every single one of us doesn't want complexity? And I suppose you know us all well, and in real life, in which case it would be really awesome if you'd tell me where exactly you know me from, since you think you know me and my motivations so goddamn well, you fucking troll. And speaking of trolls, maybe the reason those posts get so many comments is because they're the ones that attract the most trolls -- trolls generally don't like topics of more complexity, and avoid them, which avoids the flame wars that typically lead to 100-comment posts. But what do I know, I'm just a stupid goddamned woman posting about international affairs, which I probably shouldn't be doing anyways, at least not in your little misogynist fantasy world.

Also, I too would love to hear more about these corruption charges, especially those that don't relate to her husband. Also, it should be noted that although Bhutto was indeed perceived as corrupt by the Pakistani people, Nawaz Sharif was perceived as more corrupt, yet you don't see people getting their undies all in a bundle over his corruption. Any bets on whether there's a reason for that?

Hi-- to those people who have requested information about the corruption charges, I've included information from the wikipedia entry on Bhutto; we all know how infallible that is. I think we should take criticisms agains Bhutto seriously and not be tempted to downplay them because of her gender or her death. Depicting her as some pro-democracy saint who was slain by evildoers is adding fuel to the fire in the world today (and remember that the Taliban which she supported pretty effectively curtailed the burgeoning women's movement in Afghanistan-- specifically RAWA). Anyway, here:

French, Polish, Spanish, and Swiss documents have fueled the charges of corruption against Bhutto and her husband. Bhutto and her husband faced a number of legal proceedings, including a charge of laundering money through Swiss banks. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, spent eight years in prison on similar corruption charges. Zardari, released from jail in 2004, has suggested that his time in prison involved torture; human rights groups have supported his claim that his rights were violated.[11]

A 1998 New York Times investigative report[12] indicates that Pakistani investigators have documents that uncover a network of bank accounts, all linked to the family's lawyer in Switzerland, with Asif Zardari as the principal shareholder. According to the article, documents released by the French authorities indicated that Zardari offered exclusive rights to Dassault, a French aircraft manufacturer, to replace the air force's fighter jets in exchange for a 5% commission to be paid to a Swiss corporation controlled by Zardari. The article also said a Dubai company received an exclusive license to import gold into Pakistan for which Asif Zardari received payments of more than $10 million into his Dubai-based Citibank accounts. The owner of the company denied that he had made payments to Zardari and claims the documents were forged. Bhutto maintained that the charges leveled against her and her husband were purely political.[13][14] An Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) report supports Bhutto's claim. It presents information suggesting that Benazir Bhutto was ousted from power in 1990 as a result of a witch hunt approved by then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan. The AGP report says Khan illegally paid legal advisers 28 million Rupees to file 19 corruption cases against Bhutto and her husband in 1990-92.[15]

The assets held by Bhutto and her husband have been scrutinized. The prosecutors have alleged that their Swiss bank accounts contain £740 million.[16] Zardari also bought a neo-Tudor mansion and estate worth over £4 million in Surrey, England, UK.[17][18] The Pakistani investigations have tied other overseas properties to Zardari's family. These include a $2.5 million manor in Normandy owned by Zardari's parents, who had modest assets at the time of his marriage.[12] Bhutto denied holding substantive overseas assets.

Go to wikipedia for more.

The irony of her bestowing party leadership on her NINETEEN YEAR OLD son (for Pete's sake!) and husband and then saying it's all about democracy is astonishing.