'Benazir Bhutto Enters History'

                                                           [The Daily Star, Lebanon]

NRC Handelsblad, The Netherlands

It's Still Premature to

Declare U.S. Policy on

Pakistan Bankrupt, But …

"… the assassination of Bhutto is an unprecedented setback for the United States. If Pakistan with its fifty warheads crumbles, the entire region around the only Islamic nuclear power runs the risk of disintegrating."

EDITORIAL

Translated By Meta Mertens

December 29, 2007

The Netherlands - NRC Handlesblad - Original Article (Dutch)

In the for the time being the only Islamic nuclear power in the world, it is situated in a chaotic region, and an assassination has been committed for which everyone in that country can be responsible. Because of the combination of nuclear bombs, geopolitics and paranoia, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is much more dangerous than previous political assassinations in Pakistan. Bhutto was no lily-white politician. A cloud of corruption and tribalism hung over her. She was not averse to bargaining, not even with her key opponent, General Musharraf. And in her administrative career - she was prime minister twice - she left little of lasting value behind her.

Nevertheless, after her return from exile in October, she was the very embodiment of opposition against Musharraf, who had been written off for the presidential polls on January 8th. What the judges and lawyers were unable to do with their demonstrations this year, she could possibly accomplish. Bhutto was the personification of a potential civil and secular government, which could bring an end to the military regime and build a barrier against Islamic fundamentalism. Moreover, she was a political safety isle for President Bush, who desperately needs new initiatives now that his foreign policy in the region appears to be coming apart.

For all of these reasons, the assassination of Bhutto (the fourth killed in her family) goes beyond the interest of the victim herself. Pakistan as a state is balanced on the edge of an abyss. The presidential elections of January 8th will be boycotted by the remaining opposition candidates [they have since changed their minds]. Regional and tribal antagonisms, fueled by religious fundamentalism and/or economic interests, will be encouraged.

There is little chance that the perpetrators behind the perpetrator will ever be found. The instigators can hide themselves in Islamic circles that reside along the Afghan-Kashmir border. They can hide within the army, where the late General Zia ul Haq (who had Bhutto's father Ali Bhutto tried and executed) is admired by soldiers who aspire to an Islamic state. And in any event, the state security services, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), is still a spider in this web.

Since the intervention of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in 1979, the ISI has been allowed to play a larger and increasingly notorious role. For ten years, Pakistan acted as a broker for the U.S. The service trained the Islamic resistance movement. The Taliban are the by-product of this. After 9/11, Pakistan again became a bridgehead for the United States, this time against the religious students [Taliban] in Afghanistan.

As a result, Musharraf has managed to keep his post. It remains unclear, however, if he really has control of the ISI - despite the cleansing of the agency that he has carried out. America can only hope he does.

To determine that American policy toward Pakistan is at the edge of bankruptcy, it is still premature. But the assassination of Bhutto is an unprecedented setback for the United States. As for The Netherlands, by virtue of its involvement in Uruzgan [Afghanistan], it is directly involved with political developments in Pakistan. The mission in Afghanistan is not rendered easier by the Bhutto assassination. But even more importantly, if Pakistan with its fifty warheads crumbles, the entire region around the only Islamic nuclear power runs the risk of disintegrating.

Click for Dutch Version