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. . . Or Maybe Lashkar-e-Jhangvi Teamed Up with al-Qaeda on Bhutto Hit
So you know what they say about early reports. According to the same reporter who received a phone call from al-Qaeda's Afghanistan commander claiming responsibility for the Bhutto slaying, al-Qaeda contracted the hit out to Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the group I cited in the last post as having minimal links to al-Qaeda.
“This is our first major victory against those [eg, Bhutto and President Pervez Musharraf] who have been siding with infidels [the West] in a fight against al-Qaeda and declared a war against mujahideen,” Mustafa told Asia Times Online by telephone.He said the death squad consisted of Punjabi associates of the underground anti-Shi’ite militant group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, operating under al-Qaeda orders.
The assassination of Bhutto was apparently only one of the goals of a large al-Qaeda plot, the existence of which was revealed earlier this month.
It's not clear if that plot had any other successful components. An attack on Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf's other civilian rival, failed.
U.S. intelligence officials aren't yet vouching for the claim made by the commander, Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid. And it's all murky as to who actually assassinated the ex-premier. But here's a strategy that al-Qaeda or other Islamic extremists might have sought to execute by killing Bhutto.
Numerous assassination attempts on Pervez Musharraf have failed. So, in true asymmetric-war fashion, why not go after the softer target? Killing Bhutto helps destabilize Pakistan. As an ex-U.S. intelligence official told me yesterday, everyone in Pakistan already believes Musharraf had a hand in her death. So Musharraf suffers a crisis of legitimacy matched with a crisis of security. He has to deal with the already-ensuing riots, thereby diverting his security resources away from whatever not-particularly-successful-anyway counterterrorism efforts they're engaged in. That's a terrorist two-fer.
Comments (11)
If Al Qaeda were smart--and they are--they will deny responsibility for this. Puts Mush in one hell of a hot seat.
December 28, 2007 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
While the picture of culpability is muddy, a few things aren't.
One, Bush is hamstrung as far as options. He's stretched to the limit militarily, has poor assets for good intelligence. And maybe the worse staff to rely on in the history of the US.
Two, if one looks at who gains what from the assassination, Musharref tops the list.
As usual, our horse is the wrong one. We are in a lose/lose position. Prop Musharref up(if it can be done) and reinforce the evil empire image or cut him loose and lose what control we had in Pakistan. Thanks George.
December 28, 2007 11:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Don't blame George for this one.
We, for once, did have a decent plan to add Bhutto to the Pakistani government. OK, we didn't have a Plan B, but we still were ahead on this one.
Musharref did not gain from the assassination. He is losing control. However, in the short run, he is the only thing standing between al Qaeda and Pakistan's nukes.
What Rice has to do is (unfortunately) drop the Israeli-Palestinian issues and spend full time on getting Musharref to allow other opponents to get involved, probably by postponing the elections to late January.
By the way, the domestic winners are McCain, Guiliani, Biden, and Clinton.
December 28, 2007 12:14 PM | Reply | Permalink
$10 billion well spent.
Musharref is a useless "ally" with questionable motivations, but on the surface it doesn't appear he was actively involved in Bhutto's death.
December 28, 2007 12:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now we learn that it wasn't a bullet that killed her, but a sunroof.
Is it any coincidence that Arlen Specter was in town getting ready to meet her (with Patrick Kennedy, no less)? It is the Magic Sunroof theory.
December 28, 2007 1:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now we learn that it wasn't a bullet at all, but a sunroof, that killed her.
Is it any conincidence that Arlen Specter was nearby (with Patrick Kennedy, no less)?
Is this the Magic Sunroof Theory?
December 28, 2007 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Have no fear, Arlen "One Bullet" Specter is on the case! We'll soon get to the bottom of....something.
December 28, 2007 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Does anyone else find it odd that the same reporter who yesterday said that al Qaeda was responsible today claims that al Qaeda outsourced the job -- a detail he neglected to mention yesterday?
Or that this was part of a vast conspiracy designed to "wipe out 'precious American assets" that involved hundreds of cells all over Pakistan to track targets and communicate with their command, which would then send out death squads" -- but that the only known sucessful target was Bhutto (Sharif is not considered an American asset.)
And that, despite the knowledge of the Pakistani government about this plot, people were not kept out of the street along Bhutto's motorcade route?
Does anyone have any info on this reporter (Syed Saleem Shahzad)? Because something reeks in his story....
December 28, 2007 3:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
All of this is nonsense. This was the work of a lone crazed assassin with a single bullet. Probably fired the fatal shot from the book depository. All the other reports are a smoke screen. Political assassinations are always the work of lone nut-job killers. Only the conspiracy-theorist wackos would make any other claim.
December 28, 2007 4:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
random,
Well, technically, according to the "official" explanation the force of the blast slammed her head against the car. Obviously, there's no way her just accidentally knocking her head could cause so much damage, let alone a fatal injury, unless she was slamming her head at, literally, breakneck speed.
December 28, 2007 5:25 PM | Reply | Permalink
As I have given this some thought, I think this:
That the video has not been released for good reason. it can be scrutinized similar to the 911 videos.
This will lead to both ridiculous and interesting questions when this does occur, my qustion is this: why is this video not being released?
Find who is blocking the video distribution and you have a lead.
December 28, 2007 8:05 PM | Reply | Permalink