Sad news in Pakistan - the popular and moderate female former prime minister, running for next month's elections, was assassinated today, by extremist elements of the Pakistani society.
Although fingers are being pointed at al-Qaeda, another thing to note would be President Pervez Musharraf not providing enough security for his rivals, including Bhutto. In fact, Musharraf has been getting away with just about anything and everything, including possession of nukes and the recent martial law, as an ally of the US.
Today's sad news is a reminder that extremism of any kind is unforgivable, including Christian extremist within the US borders. The US is also well advised to be more careful in picking its friends; if the Taliban had not been propped up as resistant fighters to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, al-Qaeda would not have become influential, and propping up Musharraf would not have been necessary either.
BBC
