It hardly comes as a surprise that Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today. She was assassinated by a suicide bomber.

They’ve been trying to get her since she returned to Pakistan from her self-imposed exile in hopes of winning a general election in the country. The day of her triumphant return there was an attempt on her life which left over 150 others dead. There have been numerous other attempts. Each ended with words like, ‘She had just been waving to the crowd when the bomb went off, missing her by seconds’. Its was only a matter of time before they got their timing right and hit her while she was, indeed, standing with her head out of the top of her vehicle, waving to the crowd.

She played a dangerous game with her life. She knew orders had been given for her assassination, but she said she felt destiny required her to pursue the presidency of Pakistan. She seemed to almost court it. Or maybe she believed so strongly in her destiny that she thought she’d continue to sit down or step away just seconds before the blast. This time she didn’t and they got her.

The question that is being asked repeatedly is WHO got her. Well, aside from the guy who is now particles of dust after blowing himself up in his efforts to take her with him. The politics of the WHO will undoubtedly go on for a while. We always seem to continue to question the WHO after assassinations and never quite accept the facts as they are presented. Nevertheless, Al-Qaeda is taking credit for her murder. They generally seem to take credit for the acts that they are actually responsible for. It makes sense that it would be al-Qaeda or one of their sub-groups.

A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.

Regardless of who, it seems to me that the real question is what happens now.

A nuclear Pakistan is unstable and those who would like to see Pakistan blase a trail of democracy in the Middle East are subjected to the fury of those who are determined to turn Pakistan into a haven for terrorists and Shi’a law. Those who oppose democracy in Pakistan and anywhere in the Middle East are willing to do anything to stop it. Anything. So we are left with the hope that President Pervez Musharraf will be able to get the country under control and reduce at least the immediate danger brought about by Bhutto’s return and then her assassination.

It is my gut feeling that Musharraf has a better handle on how to control his country than we on the other side of the world can conceive of. While their leadership claims to want democracy and alliance with the West, a large percentage of the people do not and even more are terrified of those who will murder them if they don’t submit to Shi’a law.

Volatile is an understatement.

Supporters carry the coffin of
Pakistan’s former Prime Minister and opposition leader
Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi December 27, 2007.

Here’s what other’s have to say about today’s events in Pakistan:

Michelle Malkin has a round-up.
Hot Air has photos and video of the assassination scene.
A Blog for All has a round-up and updates.
Gateway Pundit has much more.
Captain’s Quarter’s - the World Reacts.
Video of President Bush’s reaction.
The Pirate’s Cove has political reactions to Bhutto’s murder.

More at: Instapundit, NRO, LGF, Tel-Chai Nation, Ol’ Broad, Blogs of War, Jules Crittenden, Right Voices, The Belmont Club, Jihad Watch, Southern Sass on Crime

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