Democratic Downer

Well after an interesting and entertaining, albeit misleading, State of the Union Address by the President Bush the Democrats laid a big giant egg on the rebuttal.

While the Pelosi era as Speaker has been historic, being the first woman speaker, what it has served to prove is why chicks haven’t obtained that high of an office in the past.

The Armenian Genocide bill she pushed for was a fantastic failure of wrong place, wrong time, and wrong messenger.  That decision pails however in her decision on who to have give the democratic response to the President’s speech last night.

The first thing that came to mind was how vastly the Democrats underestimated the overall tone of the Presidents speech, and how unfamiliar people from Kansas are with teleprompters.  The only thing I remember from the response was the awkward pauses while the teleprompter catches up.

Its not too surprising since Kansas doesn’t believe in electricity, or running water, because it isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Bible, and is therefore a tool of the desolate one.  They are also the home of that Crackpot Baptist church that protests at US soldiers funerals and chanting that God desired their death.

The tone of the Democratic response was one of timidness and uncertainty.  In these times of color coded warnings, that is not acceptable.  American’s require boldness, and sometimes informed boldness, in their leaders.

Telling the country that they would do what Bush did not: giving the military the tools to get the job done, not supporting blanket immunity for Mercenaries, and not seeking to circumvent treaties dealing with torture, would have been a much better speech.

Republicans have painted the Democratic party as tree hugging, skinny cause they are vegan, glasses wearing, dodge ball fearing, educationally elitist, don’t like to kiss girls(unless they are fat chick interns) gay marrying, pansy asses.  One does not counter that argument by having a timid housewife who got to be governor of a state nobody cares about because her daddy was a governor too.

That is what you call proving your enemies point.  Republicans don’t have a misinformed, gun toting, bible thumping, Nascar loving, cow tipping,  sentence butchering, Kentucky Fried Chicken eating, baboon give their speeches do they?  Well sometimes they do, but they also have assertive, crazy, some people think are hot, chicks talk too.

The point is you have to have a tough guy or gal give the counter arguments to Bush these days or you re-enforce his legacy seeking at any cost to the men and women of the armed services.  Going quietly into that good night is not something this Cowboy will do, no matter the timid desires of the Democrats.  All that will lead to is a McCain Presidency and a Democratic Downer.

Land of Milk and Honey

There seems to be something about the land of Cannan that makes men insane.  The spiritual nature of the land is undeniable, as it is the birthplace to the three mono-theistic religions of the world.  It is with great irony that these religions of peace often lead to the endless bloodshed we witness today.

The level of animosity that exists between the Decedents of Abraham has existed it seems since man has been able to write, for the invasion of Cannan by Joshua in biblical times.  With the advancements of technology and a theology that encourages active martyrs all that has changes is the intensity of the carnage perpetrated.

What had fueled this ever increasing orgy of violence has been the Arabic, and a greater extent, Islamic sense of brotherhood.  This was of course used by the largely Monarchical Governments as a proxy war to keep their populations focused on an outside foe, rather than the corrupt practices occurring at home.

This was then extrapolated to include the United States and by extension the West, who was still feared and reviled because of the Crusades.  (Nevermind of course the atrocities committed by the Islamic Incursion well into Europe, and had dominated Spain well into the 1400’s. )

We see now the first chink of that unwaivering closeness beginning to break.  As with Pakistan and Bangladesh whose forefathers felt that Islam would supersede varying national interests, so the West bank is breaking from Gaza.

Where the political party of Fatah has realized that the destruction of Israel isn’t exactly the best party platform for the long term goals of the Palestinian people, they have worked with Israel (albeit slowly) for the good of the people as a whole and not catering to the extremest segments.

Gaza on the other hand fully embraced Hamas as their political leaders, lending some level of legitimacy of to the terrorist organization.  What has followed is the near totality of the world placing sanctions and embargoing the strip of land that has been home to many terrorists over the years.

This deterioration of circumstance has broken the Islamic brotherhood by forcing Egypt to close its borders to the troubled land to keep the constant stream of evacuees and immigrants from entering the country.

In the Biblical tale Ishmael and Isaac did not get along and were to some degree rivals to the birthright promised Abraham by God.  When Abraham died the two did manage to put their feelings aside and were able to have peace between them, for a time.  Perhaps with the death of Hamas the modern counterparts of Israel and Palestine will be able to be at peace as well.

For only then will the land of Cannan fulfill its title of the Land of Milk and Honey

Das Vidanya

Maybe it is because of all the video games, movies, and Tom Clancey novels, but I am kinda just spent on the Russians being the bad guy. Don’t get me wrong, they are still God-less heathen commies, but like the 15th Nightmare on Elm Street movie, it gets kinda old all after a while.

Now I will admit that some of the hard feelings have been melted because of the exportation of Russian female tennis players. I mean with ambassadors like these there still could be hope for Russia and Britain to stop their little argument.

It becomes even more tiresome since because of all the decades of the Cold War, we are at least familiar with Russian culture. Vodka, funny dancing, and ending ones sentences with “All for Mother Russia”. This is especially true when there is that new villain with a funnier accent and stranger culture out in the Middle East, though even they are starting to get more ridiculous hype than Cloverfield.

With a stranger accent, mixed with a strange and exotic culture, and the only real communication between cultures being when they invaded Europe to expand Islam, and the Crusades, lets just say that we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.

Add in the religious idealism that Islam serves to complete Christianity, and a doctrine of active martyrdom and there is a great possibility of conflict spiraling out of hand. With this helps Conservatives fear monger in order to win elections that would be lost on ideas, it can also fray already fragile relations.

With this changing of the enemy comes a changing of tactics, as well as a change in the rules. Or at least it should. Correct me if I am wrong, but the Napoleonic style of charging ones enemies didn’t work out too well in WWI. The two history majors in the back know what I am talking about. Adaptation is necessary for any organism to survive in the ever changing environment that is the world of foreign policy.

Although when you try to mention this to the conservative right, all they hear is, “adaptation could lead to evolution, and that is a slight against God, and environment is code for global warming, and that is merely a tool of the devil to make us swear allegiance to the desolate one.” So of course nothing gets done, the answer is always, “Nuke ‘Em” cause that will solve the problem.

So now we see Russia trying to get in the spotlight as the evil maniacal villain, only he can’t really do much except be a sidekick to the Iranian Star. Although we still want that missile shield against them cause, well they may still go ahead and launch after a Vodka Binge.  Instead of the specter of Red Tanks rolling into Europe, we need to worry about Turbans loaded with C4.  So the awesome sequel of Cold War Part Deaux - Das Vidanya.

Constitutional Conservatism

One of the many things that I love about the American Experiment of Democracy is the way that facts and historical lessons are twisted in ways to fit ones own personal ideological view. Conservatives are fantastic at this and seek to post convert the Founding Fathers to join the Pantheon of the Church of Reagan.

Given enough time FDR, JFK and WJC (William Jefferson Clinton) will be added as men who belong to the Conservative movement, only were unaware of it at the time. While this is not a unique trait to conservatives, it is probably the most taxing and tiresome group to have to intellectually debate, because no matter what they are right. At least that what they think, no matter the facts to the contrary.

Conservative thought is much like Communism in the way that it would and could work, if those practicing the political philosophy were not capable of having human frailty. Then again this would be true of any religion/philosophy because if Man were perfect they would be able to function in any system.

With the “gift” of free will, this is an impossibility. For just as the despised poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free may take advantage of programs meant to be a safety net rather than a crutch, so too politicians who desire fiscal responsibility will realize that a government job is pretty tight. Those calling for the end of social programs because of the money wasted, were the same people calling for a monument to Ronald Wilson Reagan (coincidentally 666) in EVERY congressional district in the country. I find that odd.

Government is not, nor should it ever be, an entity that maintains control over every aspect of our lives, that is what religion is for. There does exist a cause to have social programs for the people who do legitimately need assistance and look to be productive members of society. Before the creation of the FDA by an evil “liberal” FDR it was LEGAL to sell harmful products such as spoiled meat, without real consequences. It took the famous “Switch in times, saves Nine” by the Supreme Court to change this practice in the United States.

If it is the goal of “true” Conservatives to champion the individual and to eventually tear down the oppression of government programs such as the Postal Office and Law Enforcement, then perhaps they skipped the day in civics class where sometimes governments are a good thing. Everybody shouldn’t be able to bear arms. The extension of this principle is our current policy towards Iran as well as the rest of the Middle East.

The crazy site “Conservative Amazon“quotes Craig Shirley saying, “The Constitution was to be a check on government, not on people.”  is oversimplifying things just a little bit.  If I recall, the population of the US had groups other than Landholding-White-Males, otherwise the question of marriage would have been made a long time ago.  Therefore there was a limiting of the population who was to participate in a government where, “All Men are created equal”.

The Constitutional Rules governing the Legislative Branch of Congress was in and of itself limiting of the people.  The House must jump through hoops in order to allow a bill to make it to the floor and be heard, much less be passed and given to the Senate in order to further the process of allowing it to be a law.  This was to create a Check on the Mob Mentality that has been known to exist in human nature from time to time.

Then of course there is the presence of the Senate being elected by the State Legislators, again, to limit the opportunities of an uninformed populace electing people like Fred Thompson to such positions.  Sadly these were Amended out by liberals who felt that more democracy was better than less.  Though since most Conservatives believe in strict adherence to the Constitution and Shirley’s point was creation, the intellectual honesty requires these points be addressed.

The most famous of these checks on the people was to be the Electoral College.  The small little quirk that was to keep those unqualified from becoming President of the United States.  Based on the principle to keep small states relevant in these elections, allowed the parties to decide who would be in the Electoral College giving out the votes.  Granted, it failed in the case of George W. Bush,  but not every system is allowed to be fool proof.  Perhaps it will save us from the Evangelical Revival of Huckabee.

While this is normally a foreign policy blog, it is an oath of every American to protect this country from threats, foreign and domestic.   Though I have no fear but fear itself, we need to be weary of the Axis of Evil that exists in Constitutional Conservatism.

Sunni or Later -

This may have come as a shock to many of you, as over the last seven years I have, perhaps as you, been confused and perplexed at the various positions and direction that the Bush Administration has taken, and I fear I have that familiar feeling again.

After his trip to Israel, Bush stopped by our very trustworthy Allies in Saudi Arabia, then promptly dropped a $20 Billion contract for weapons to the Kingdom. This of course is to maintain Saudi Arabia as a regional check on the Iranian bid for power. It just seems odd that Bush feels nothing but contempt for checks and balances stated by the Constitution at home, yet thinks it can work in the Persian Gulf.

The United States has benefited greatly from its hard work tenacity, idealistic principles, and quite frankly stupid opponents. Miscalculating their advantages and misunderstanding the circumstances that surrounded the military engagements throughout our history.

Enumerating this list would take more work than I am able to do, since it is a dreary Monday.  Suffice it to say that a great deal of luck benefited the United States at very critical moments in our history.  Luck, however is a fickle mistress, and her retributions can be harsh.

Providing weapons to Islamic people who wish to drive off a common enemy of both the United States and the Islamic people we are aiding did not go particularly well in Afghanistan.  Despite the knowledge/Faith/Hope that God was on our noble side.

So we are now giving more aid to the country that 15 of 19 hijackers were born and raised on.  A country whose government is founded upon the spiritual clout of the Wahabi Islamic teachings, the back to the old way style of Islam.

All of this to put a strangle hold on Iran, who by my reckoning does not have nuclear weapons, and yet we do nothing with regard to Pakistan, or North Korea, that do have nuclear weapons.   Bush’s own rhetoric is the driving force for a country that is ideologically opposed to US interests, to gain the technological check on American influence in the region.

I wish I could see the world through Bush’s eyes and in that way gain an insight on what it is h is trying to accomplish.  I could understand Tony Blair, and see the vision he was attempting to bring to life.  But then I am the worst of all things: a moderate liberal,  articulate when I want to be, cynical in our battered political system, and growing more apathetic to its false hope of change.  Its got to get better, Sunni or Later.

Peace In Our Time

Well I don’t know about you, but I am definitely feeling so much better about the idea of peace in the Middle East.  With a President that has been so correct on diagnosing and applying policy to critical questions that have faced our country, it is safe to say that President Bush knows exactly what he is talking about.

One may look to his many successes on the foreign policy front, and you must stare in awe at the keenness of his eye, and the sharpness of his intellect.  While so many others have failed to bring prestige across the globe for the United States, President Bush has truly shined.

With the United States military finding the arsenal of Biological and Chemical weapons bunker in Iraq, which had a total payload of 200 million tons, keeping these weapons from potential terrorist was indeed a huge success for this administration.

This is of course ignoring the great embrace that the Iraqi people have shown towards Coalition Military units.  Showering before them as they travel the streets of Baghdad  and through the country with flowers of praise and thanks.  The Iraqi people have truly embraced democracy, a fact shown by the professional way that the trial of Saddam Hussein was conducted, and the eventual outcome of his imprisonment for life, rather than the death penalty.

When combined with the capture trial and eventual execution of Osama Bin Laden, as well as 7 of his ten highest ranking members, the War in Afghanistan will truly go down in History as the most successful reprisal of terrorist actions.  Having been one of the most disadvantaged countries since the beginning of the Mongol Empire, the ability of Afghanistan to turn their backs on opium farming and build the foundation for a capitalistic democratic country that serves as an example to the world the power of personal worth.

These successes served as the tipping point to finally be able to normalize relations  with Iran, and be a driving force to bring the Islamic Republic on the world stage as a peaceful member of the global community.  Having concluded that nuclear energy is no longer necessary for their countries national defense, President Ahmenijihad has canceled the fledgling nuclear program and has desires to act as an emissary of Peace to the people of North Korea.

While the only snag has been the persistence of the North Korean government to only close down one of their nuclear facilities, signals have been sent by Kim Jung Il, that he is willing to participate in regional talks without limitations or restrictions.   Should this be the worst outcome that President Bush’s Administration faces, history will truly be able to place him in the conversation of one of the greatest Presidents this country has ever had.

Though the accomplishments do not stop there.  Through the unique friendship that exists between President Bush and out going President Putin, Russia has transformed itself into a truly democratic society that stands as a champion of the rule of law, economic transparity,  while being a calming influence of change upon Asia.

By that same token, Saudi Arabia has also embraced the unique position that they have by being at the epicenter of two of the three most important cities in the Islamic world.  thorough interfaith dialogues initiated by the President the Wahabi teachers have embraced a reformation of Islam that seeks to rid itself of the negative stereotypes and speak to the true essence of the Prophet Muhammad.

The places that have experienced the greatest change in the Political landscape because of this outcome have been of course, the peace agreement and nuclear disarmaments treaties that now exist between India and Pakistan, and the purpose of this post, Israel and Palestine.

This has been the Presidents first trip to the country of Israel, and he has had talks with the leaders of both the Palestinian Authority, as well as the Prime Minister of Israel.  Mr. Bush has proclaimed that he feels that a deal of peace may be struck within this his last year of his Presidency.

With the economy rolling along strong, and New Orleans back to its former glory is is little wonder that the House of Representatives introduced a Constitutional Amendment seeking to abolish the limits on the number of terms that a President may serve.  President Bush declined and spoke against this amendment of  course, by saying that, “One man, one Party, One President, can never be greater than the Whole of our Country, while today’s media seeks to praise me, it is truly the principles of our country that has made these successes possible.”

So when the elections in November comes around, the nation will surely morn the loss of one of its most influential leaders, and a truly golden era as our country has elevated itself to new heights of prosperity and prestige.   One may only hope that the tradition of this President may continue as the endorsed Candidate Mike Huckabee seems poised to lead us into the future.  A future where we will truly have Peace In Our Time.

Now Is The Time

There seems to be a cosmic rule that the top dog seems to get complacent, and it is at that moment that they seem vulnerable and someone takes a swing at them, pretty much thinking they will go down and stay down.

While sometimes this tactic leads to the utter destruction of those who initiated the combat, future generations become inspired to continue the tradition, that they will succeed where others failed, but more often than not, it serves to motivate that top dog to cement their place on top and to make sure nobody every tries to take a swipe at them again.

The attacks on Pearl Harbor is a definite example of rousing a nation, for it was the catalyst for the United States to eventually become the Superpower of Light and decency to protect human dignity against the Dark, vile and vodka exporting Soviet Union.

The attacks on New York and the Pentagon in 2001 are the example of a squandered opportunity, though my thoughts on the opportunistic, callous, and despicable hijacking of this national tragedy by the Republican party has been made clear in past articles.  My deep resentment of the conservative right cheapening these events is why I will not state the date of these attacks, as well as Giuliani uses the term enough for me, you and every other oxygen breathing biped on the planet.   Excluded from this populace is of course VP Cheney since he merely needs the blood of patriots and puppies to survive.

As were we the overconfident power in the World, so was the Police/Military within Pakistan.  Overconfident that they would not become a target of the terrorists that have near total control of the border lands of Pakistan and Afghanistan a feeling of invulnerability crept within the ranks.  Even with the assassination of Bhutto it was felt that surely the Military would not be a potential target.

That perception has changed drastically today.  Seeking to attack riot police protecting lawyers rallying that Musharraf is unfit for leadership and that they are ready for “true” democracy, a suicide bomber detonated and killed 23 Riot Police officers, while wounding 58 others.

It is human nature to ignore some problems until they become very large ones.  This would explain the Republicans rise to control the three branches of the federal government.  Who merely seem to gain power to use it so incompetently that it proves that government is inefficient, and thus weaken the institutions that the Founding Fathers created.

Concerning Pakistan it was to ignore the festering problem of the Taliban due to the unique nature of tribal loyalties and fears of pushing an entire ethnic group into the training grounds because of them.  Why risk the possibility of violence when one does not have to?  The attack today is the same as a declaration of war against the legitimate government of Pakistan.  With the first volley being launched perhaps now the military of Pakistan will step up and strike back at these cowards.

I hold reservations on the optimism of hope that this will end with a preferable outcome, because Musharraf may take a page out of the US play book, and merely provide lip service to show he intends to do something then invades India, linking them to the attacks then once embroiled in an ill fated idea deny that any links were made.

It is also possible that the military and police force is not the powerful machination that can impose the rule and will of its government.  It is a long tradition of Middle Eastern countries to maintain an incompetent military, so that it would not be able to stage a coup.  So it is entirely possible that I have mistaken the inaction of the Pakistani military as being sluggish when it is truly too weak to stand in blow to blow battle with the combined forces of the Taliban and Al Qaueda.

Whatever the case maybe, if we were to find out…Now Is The Time.

Bloodline Politics

It is well known that politicians can be opportunistic on current events in order to further their own agenda, we need only to look at the actions of the Republican party the last eight years to confirm these stereotypes.

When one is capitalizing on the death of one’s parent, it seems to reach a whole new level of wrong.  This is how the “election?”(if that can be the right word) of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party strikes me.

For months it seemed, and was “reported” by the major media outlets that the true desire of the Bhutto campaign was over democratic principles that Musharraf was wrongly curtailing because of imagined dangers to the stability of the country, and how much she truly cared about Pakistan.

With the party now being lead, ceremonially or not, by a 19 year old kid not even graduated from college yet, we have a glimpse of what the Bhutto campaign was really about - power.  Pure, simple, unadulterated, thirst for power.

The opportunity was seen with the country of Pakistan heading ever closer to chaos, and the unpopularity of Musharraf who was seen as doing too much of what the West wanted, and internationally not seen as doing enough.  So when he tried to relieve some of that pressure by letting back in a Prime Minister who was expelled (twice) on corruption charges, Bhutto seized the moment to push her own agenda.

Even when she knew that the people who disliked Musharraf for being too lenient would not exactly find the idea of a woman in charge particularly appealing she came anyway.  When asked to postpone so that safety protocols could be determined she insisted on going home immediately.

Even when a bomb went off at a rally early in her “triumphant” return, she still would go into the midst of the people, seemingly without care, that she was making it that much easier for those who wished to do her harm to get the opportunity to do so.

Then we have her “supposed” letters to friends to be released, “if she were to be killed” and putting the blame on Musharraf rather than the people who carried out the act.  This would be like a quarterback blaming the referees for a late hit rather than the linebacker who done it.

The party that presumably had the “best interests” of Pakistan by desiring to bring democracy to the unstable country seems to be merely use the rhetoric when it suits them and then carry on with their true agenda.  Dynasties are nothing new, and apparently people find solace in them.  What needs to be remembered is that competence and integrity need to matter as well, the experiences of the Bush Dynasty should be evidence of the dangers of Bloodline Politics.

Iranian Nights

There are some people who just love attention, they don’t care if it is good or bad, they just feel that any lime light they can get is good, so it appears that Iran is the Britney Spears of the Middle East.

Upset with the fact that Pakistan has taken the leading role of Apocalypse bringing Muslim nation, Iran has decided to exert its potential for being the harbinger of spinning the world into chaos.

How did they do this, they took a page out of their protector China’s play book by letting reckless military officers taunt their US counterparts in order to force an incident.  This was the first and best sign of how the Bush Administration would boondackle foreign policy issues.  It was the Chinese who had “routine” flybys of their military aircraft buzz our spy plane that was in international airspace, when a pilot who had a history of flying too close, rammed into the spy plane and sent both crashing.

Not only did the friendly lead painting toys Chinese government blame us for the incident, they held the US crew in detainment, while they sifted and examined the US plane.  Bush pretty much let the crew hang high and dry until he was able to find China on a map, and had it explained to him the sevarity of the event, he was reading a children’s book at the time.

Now we have Iran attempting the same type of strategy with much more potential for a provoking action to be taken by our Military.  It is no secret with all the loony rhetoric that comes from Tehran, their intentions for the United States, “Death to America!” kinda sums it up.   So when naval vehicles, even small ones with the knowledge of what happened to the USS Coal, engage in hostile activities - they going to be seeing the bottom of the Persian Gulf right quick.

Why would this be such a global changing event?  Because of the mindset that exists in the Middle East toward outsiders, everything they do is tolerable, anything others do is a slight against God.  There was no condemnation of the Arabian world when Saddam let loose his biological and chemical weapons against the Kurds, mostly because everybody dislikes the distinct ethnic group.  Suicide bombers by the Palestinians in Israel are hailed as glorious fighters for Islam and Arabs in general.  Insurgents using Mosques as fortresses and desecrating the buildings by firing mortars, machine gun fire and building IED’s, they are to be protected, while the US military returning fire are seen as the villains in their eyes.

This is a distinct difference from the actions that took place in WWII where churches were to be left alone, unless they were being used as a hostile bases of operations, then they became legitimate military targets, because it was understood that those firing from the religious site were the ones desicrating its holiness, not those returning fire.

Muslims see such actions as confirmation of the West’s desire to Islam, which concerning all the problems that have come from the faith make such a goal appealing, what is truly desired to eradicate are those who would warp a religion and say that moral purity gives them permission to do any and all acts of depravity.

“An Attack Upon One Is An Attack Upon All” is the credo of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.  It was this motto that our ally Turkey evoked after the attacks perpetrated by the evil men of Al Qaeda.  So it happens this same creed is felt by the Muslim world, which was what Bin Laden was hoping for, that Muslims would protect their own, rather than protect the integrity of their religion.  This is merely the beginning of the tales of the Iranian Nights

Somebody Had To Say It

I wanted to have a nice long relaxing vacation, I wanted to try for myself the proposed foreign policy of President Huckabee, just you wait, of isolationism.

Then Pakistan had to go all Armageddon on me and everything became turned upside down.  Logic seemed to be gone and it was a terrible global tragedy that someone died while being stupid.  Bhutto supporters started tearing the country apart, apparently that is how Muslims react to every event, and media outlets told us how terrible this is.

Correct me if I am wrong, but we all saw this coming right?  Even when she was pardoned and was coming back to the country, the threats came out, the pleas came from Musharraf’s government to wait two weeks so that they can put a clamp down on things.  This was rejected by Bhutto, who felt that democracy would be her shield.

Then like our President she found out that Democracy doesn’t protect the stupid from making stupid decisions.  Democracy can only mean something if those practicing it have a respect for the rule of law and stability.  This is not a chicken or the egg statement, Democracy arises from stability, not the other way around.

People need realize this and take a brief look at history in order to acknowledge these truths that I speak.  We cannot expect to change thousands of years of depravity and violence by having a mantra of one man one vote.  It takes economic stability, the creation of a large and robust middle class, and one or more political parties to exploit that middle class by promising smaller government less taxes, “fiscal responsibility” while all the while trying to warp the Constitution and spitting on the Principle of Checks and Balances.

Let us remember the very extreme qualifications that were mandated to vote in our own newly founded republic.  Only landowning white males were able to cast their votes, which was kept in check by an electoral college for the President, and it was the State Legislatures that decided the members of the Senate.

For a more powerful, culturally diverse, morally questionable popular culture, Britney Spears was normal once, demanded that we provide all rights to all people, there would have been a backlash then as well.  So it is with the stringent followers of Muhammad.  Whereas in the West Suicide bombers are not the first last and most hailed method of showing ones displeasure.

This was what Bhutto represented to these small minded fearful and hate driven fanatics of a religion that keeps telling us it is peaceful.   Pakistan is a country that does not have control over its own borders, and mush like Saudi Arabia sees any help from outside powers as being seen as weak and vulnerable to a coup.

Therefore an unstable country with a domestically unpopular President, a military that would rather attack the Hindus of India, rather than their, “Muslim” brethren in the tribal lands.  We (were before Bush) one of the most economically stable, well respected, and morally conscience nations in thw world, and the prospect of a Woman as the head of our country still scares people.  Of course she would be a target for these wackos.

Thus we see that Bhutto, who it seemed wished to be a martyr for Pakistani Democracy, carried on with risky unguarded areas to overthrow a man who is no where near the true danger, or negative influence upon the country she supposedly loved so dearly.  For he followers, and her alleged letters blame Musharraf for the results of her behavior and poor judgment.

This leaves either two choices for the people of Pakistan to assume the mantle of leadership.  The Pakistani Army, which is still disliked and international reservations would about, especially with all the pressure exerted on Musharraf to give up his uniform.  Or the ones responsible for granting Bhutto her martyrdom, the Islamic Extremists.

What makes this so solidly important and extremely difficult to  excuse the stupidity of Bhutto and her followers actions is the fact that such a scenario would provide the very people who DID attack us on that fateful day in September, with the arsenal to do untold horrors.  Let me remind you it would be those same people protected by the Taliban, which Bhutto felt would bring stability to the region and allowed them to extend their power in Afghanistan while she was Prime Minister of Pakistan.

it is always a tragedy to someone when a person dies.  When that person takes reckless chances and places themselves in harms way needlessly, it is considerably less so.  Should those actions affect the safety of others, then it becomes a tragedy to people who had nothing to do with the initial incident.  Should the worst come to pass in Pakistan, that blame should be at the feet of Benazir Bhutto - Because Somebody Had To Say It.