My paper has a new feature where you can rate and comment on pieces.Rate it a 4,of course,but enter your own insight:)
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2007/12/31/opinion/doc47792471a214e095764557.txt‘On Bhutto assassination’
To the Editor,
The recent assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan may seem far-removed from Ellis County. Its implications are global and highlight our diplomatic failures in the Middle East.
The money for the Sept. 11 attacks was wired to Florida from banks in Pakistan and al-Qaida used the country for transit to Afghanistan. As we have turned our focus away from Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, away from capturing Osama Bin Laden, away from the Taliban and al-Qaida and placed our focus on oil-rich countries with no nuclear arms, we have created a cesspool of sectarian violence that has eroded the Middle East’s security as well as that of our own.
Condoleeza Rice’s attempt to negotiate a compromise with General Musharrif of Pakistan by funnelling billions into his government,while brokering a return of Benazir Bhutto for the general election, has failed miserably. What is left is a nuclear power with martial law and a discontented populus. The Supreme Court of Pakistan has been placed under house arrest, so as not to interfere with the upcoming elections. Sixty-seven percent of Pakistanis believe Musharrif should resign and 70 percent believed his government did not deserve re-election.
Our diplomatic actions at this time are critical. President Bush needs to encourage the active participation of the PPP (Bhutto’s Party) as well as other opposing parties in the upcoming elections. Being seen as a supporter of Musharrif at this critical time will not bode well for the United States or our interests in Afghanistan.
Leave politics behind. Where are our true interests in the Middle East? In Afghanistan, a fortress for al-Qaida and a direct route into a nuclear power ... or Iraq, a devastated theocracy of our creation with no nuclear weapons (despite the lies fed to us at the inception of war). This, Americans, is what happens when you create a war based on lies.