- Assassination of prominent political leaders, presumably
protected by the best security, is no easy thing. It requires agencies
of professional intelligence training to insure that the job is done and
that no person is caught alive who can lead to those behind. Typically,
from the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo in July
1914 to JFK, the person pulling the trigger is just an instrument of a
far deeper conspiracy. So too in the assassination on December 27 th, of
Pakistani former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto. Cui bono?.
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- What was behind the murder of Bhutto at the moment her
PPP party appeared about to win a resounding election victory in the planned
January 8 elections, thereby posing a mass-based challenge to the dictatorial
rule of President Musharraf?
-
- Musharraf's government was indecently quick to blame
"Al-Qaeda," the dubious entity allegedly the organization of
Osama bin Laden, whom Washington accused for masterminding the September
11 2001 attacks. Musharraf just days after, declared he was "sure"
Al Qaeda was the author, even though, on US pressure, he has asked Scotland
Yard to come and investigate. "I want to say it with certainty, that
these people (Al Qaeda) martyred ... Benazir Bhutto," Musharraf said
in a Jan. 3 televised address. He named Baitullah Mehsud, a militant tribal
chief fighting the Pakistani Army, who has alleged ties to al-Qaeda and
the Afghan Taleban. Mehsud denied the charge. Had he been behind such a
dramatic event, the desired propaganda impact among militant islamists
would require taking open responsibility instead.
-
- By linking the Bhutto killing to Al Qaeda, Musharraf
conveniently gains several goals. First he reinforces the myth of Al Qaeda,
something very useful to Washington at this time of growing global skepticism
over the real intent of its War on Terrorism, making Musharraf more valuable
to Washington. Second it gives Musharraf a plausible scapegoat to blame
for the convenient elimination of a serious political rival to his consolidation
of one-man rule.
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- Notable also is the fact that the Musharraf regime has
rejected making a routine autoposy on Bhutto's body. Bhutto publicly charged
that the Government had refused to make followup inquiry after the October
bombing which nearly killed her and did 134 followers near her auto. Bhutto
accused Pakistani authorities of not providing her with sufficient security,
and hinted that they may have been complicit in the Karachi attack. She
also made clear in a UK television interview shortly before her death that
she would clean out the Pakistan military and security services of corrupt
and islamist elements. In the same David Frost interview, Bhutto also dropped
the explosive news that Afghan Taleban leader Sheikh Omah had killed bin
Laden some while back. That fact would make the alleged Bin Laden terror
videos periodically delivered to western media clear as forgeries.
-
- Days after the Bhutto killing, Pakistani authorities
published a photo alleged to be of the severed head of the suicide bomber
who killed Bhutto. Severed heads, like Lee Harvey Oswald don't talk or
say embarrassing things.
-
- It has been known for months that the Bush-Cheney administration
has been maneuvering to strengthen their political control of Pakistan,
paving the way for the expansion and deepening of the "war on terrorism"
across the region.
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- Who was Bhutto?
-
- The Bhutto family was itself hardly democratic, drawing
its core from feudal landowning families, but opposed to the commanding
role of the army and ISI intelligence. Succeeding her father as head of
the PPP, Benazir declared herself "chairperson for life"
a position she held until her death. Bhutto's husband, Ali Zardari, "Mr.
10%," is known in Pakistan for his demanding a 10% cut from letting
major government contracts when Benazir was PM. In 2003, Benazir and her
husband were convicted in Switzerland of money laundering and taking bribes
from Swiss companies as PM. The family is allegedly worth several billions
as a result. As prime minister from 1993 to 1996, she advocated a conciliatory
policy toward Islamists, especially the Taliban in Afghanistan.
-
- The Harvard educated Benazir had close ties to US and
UK intelligence as well. She used the offices of neo-conservative US Congressman
Tom Lantos when she was in Washington according to our informed reports,
one reason Vice President Cheney backed her as a "safe" way to
save his Pakistan strategic alliance in face of growing popular protest
against Musharraf's declaring martial law last year. The ploy was to have
Bhutto make a face-saving deal with Musharraf to put a democratic face
on the dictatorship, while Washington maintained its strategic control.
According to the Washington Post of 28 Dec., " For Benazir Bhutto,
the decision to return to Pakistan was sealed during a telephone call from
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just a week before Bhutto flew home
in October. The call culminated more than a year of secret diplomacy --
and came only when it became clear that the heir to Pakistan's most powerful
political dynasty was the only one who could bail out Washington's key
ally in the battle against terrorism. . . .As President Pervez Musharraf's
political future began to unravel this year, Bhutto became the only politician
who might help keep him in power. "
-
- In November, John Negroponte, former Bush Administration
Intelligence Czar and now Deputy Secretary of State was deployed to Islamabad
to pressure Musharraf to ease the situation by holding elections and forming
a power-sharing with Bhutto. But once in Pakistan, where her supporters
were mobilized, Bhutto made clear she would seek an election coalition
to openly oppose Musharraf and military rule in the planned elections.
-
- A cynical US-Musharraf deal?
-
- Informed intelligence sources say there was a cynical
deal cut behind the scenes between Washington and Musharraf. Musharraf
is known to be Cheney's preferred partner and Cheney we are told is the
sole person running US-Pakistan policy today.
-
- Were Musharraf to agree to stationing of US Special Forces
inside Pakistan, "Plan B", the democratic farce with Bhutto could
be put aside, in favor of the continued Musharraf sole rule. Washington
would "turn a blind eye."
-
- On Dec. 28, one day after the Bhutto assassination, the
Washington Post reported that in early 2008, "US Special Forces are
expected to vastly expand their presence in Pakistan as part of an effort
to train and support indigenous counter-insurgency forces and clandestine
counterterrorism units," under the US Central Command and US Special
Operations Command, a major shift in US Pakistani ties. Until now Musharraf
and his military have refused such direct US control, aside from the agreement
after September 11, extracted from Musharraf under extreme pressure of
possible US bombing, to give the US military direct control of the Pakistan
nuclear weapons.
-
- The elimination of Bhutto leaves an opposition vacuum.
The country lacks a credible political leader who can command national
support, which leaves the military enhanced as an institution, with its
willingness to defend Musharraf on the streets. This gives the Pentagon
and Washington a chance to consolidate a military opposition to future
Chinese economic hegemonythe real geopolitical goal of Washington.
-
- GLOBAL RESEARCH RELEASE
-
- http://globalresearch.ca/books/SoD.html
- Seeds of Destruction,
- http://globalresearch.ca/books/SoD.html
- The Hidden Agenda of Genetic Manipulation
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