ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto deals a stunning blow to liberal political forces trying to combat rising Islamic extremism in Pakistan.
Gathering unrest by her supporters also risks tipping the volatile country into chaos, and puts additional pressure on President Pervez Musharraf as he struggles to keep order and stay in power.
It quashes hopes of Western governments that the charismatic, two-time former prime minister could team up with Musharraf and galvanize Pakistan's fight against Taliban and al-Qaida militants after Jan. 8 elections, which are now themselves in doubt.
"This assassination is the most serious setback for democracy in Pakistan," said Rasul Baksh Rais, a political scientist at Lahore's University of Management Sciences. "It shows extremists are powerful enough to disrupt the democratic process. Musharraf's major concern now will be to maintain law and order and make sure this does not turn into a major movement against him."
Bhutto died Thursday when an attacker shot her and then blew himself up as she left a political rally in Rawalpindi, a city near the capital where Pakistan's army has its headquarters. It was the second suicide attack against her since her tumultuous homecoming from an eight-year exile in October.
The other key opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif - whose government was ousted in the 1999 coup that brought Musharraf to power - quickly announced he was boycotting the parliamentary elections, which are meant to usher Pakistan toward civilian government after years of military dominance.
Talat Masood, a retired general and now a political analyst, expected Bhutto's party to follow suit - a move that would rob the vote of legitimacy.
Bhutto had accused elements in the ruling party of backing militants to kill her - claims that could gain more traction now despite government denials.
At the very least, the government will appear to be losing its grip over Pakistan.
"Conditions in the country have reached a point where it is too dangerous for political parties to operate," Masood said.
He anticipated that Musharraf, who recently suspended the constitution for six weeks, could take drastic steps.
"It is possible they could declare an emergency again," he said.
But Musharraf, who was himself targeted twice in Rawalpindi by al-Qaida bombers in December 2003, gave no immediate sign of an authoritarian backlash to Bhutto's assassination. He declared three days of national mourning and vowed to fight the terrorists behind her killing.
Only a few months ago, he held direct talks with Bhutto and paved the way for her return from exile.
Anthony Cordesman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, warned that any suspicion that Musharraf had a role in Bhutto's killing or knew about the plot and failed to prevent it could pitch Pakistan "to the edge of civil conflict."
"Much will depend on whether some Islamist extremist movement announces that it committed the attack, but even then a substantial number of Pakistanis will still see the Musharraf government as being at least indirectly involved," he said.
Sharif, a longtime rival of Bhutto, sounded a defiant note after the assassination of Bhutto, and her supporters rampaged across Pakistani cities.
"We will take the revenge on the rulers," a tearful Sharif said after he rushed to the Rawalpindi hospital where Bhutto was pronounced dead.
Western allies, particularly the U.S. and Britain had hoped Bhutto and Musharraf could unite against a growing militant threat and galvanize the campaign against terrorism amid signs that al-Qaida's leadership has reconstituted itself inside Pakistan, posing a risk to global security.
"In a society becoming increasingly intolerant, she was being viewed by the international community as a person who could make a difference as a moderate politician, who, if she came to power, could turn the tide of religious extremism in this country," said Zaffar Abbas, an editor for the respected Dawn newspaper.
Cordesman stressed the domestic turmoil spawned by Bhutto's slaying was unlikely to endanger the safety of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. The government has rejected suggestions that Islamic militants might assault or infiltrate secret facilities where the weapons are stored.
"They are not stored where public riots or demonstrations can affect them, and there is no reason the military should become unstable or their security should be compromised," Cordesman said.
Anyone who actually trusts Pervez Musharaff is a fool. While enjoying billions of dollars of aid from the U.S., Pakistan has been paying only lip service to our demands to rein in homegrown extremists. I get the feeling that they must be laughing behind our backs about how naive Americans are. When we turn up the heat, all Pakistan has to do is act as if it is cracking down on the extremists and temporarily put them in jail; then, when focus shifts to other issues, quietly release them. The real question is, how long are we going to let Pakistan play this game?
I'd say as long as Bush wants to stay in Iraq pretending he's doing something about 9/11 rather than actually focusing on the real problem.
Statements from the big three Dems and quick-hit commentary:
Obama: "I am shocked and saddened by the death of Benazir Bhutto in this terrorist atrocity. She was a respected and resilient advocate for the democratic aspirations of the Pakistani people. We join with them in mourning her loss and stand with them in their quest for democracy and against the terrorists who threaten the common security of the world." - Pretty tame, straightforward. He'll likely frame this as an issue demonstrating the importance of judgment in foreign policy, along the lines of his current themes.
Clinton: "I am profoundly saddened and outraged by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a leader of tremendous political and personal courage. I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile. [...] Let us pray that her legacy will be a brighter, more hopeful future for the people she loved and the country she served." - I expected something a little more impassioned, as she apparently knew Bhutto pretty well, but she too hits the important notes. She'll frame this as demonstrating the importance of experience.
Edwards: "Benazir Bhutto was a brave and historic leader for Pakistan. Her assassination is a sad and solemn event, and our hearts go out to her family and to the Pakistani people . . . I have seen firsthand in Pakistan, and in meetings with Prime Minister Bhutto and President Musharraf, the instability of the country and the complexity of the challenges they face. At this critical moment, America must convey both strength and principle." - This is a pretty savvy statement from Edwards, as it includes the appropriate mentions of sorrow but also includes his "firsthand" experience with Pakistan including "meetings with" Bhutto and Musharraf. A gentle reminder that his foreign policy resume perhaps isn't quite so thin as sometimes alleged.
Dodd and Biden both had solid statements as well.
A final note: the people on my teevee are already telling me this will help Hillary and Giuliani. I think that's totally ridiculous, and it's time we stop assuming that any crisis benefits the (perceived) most hawkish candidates. Plus, as I said earlier today, ultimately I'm pretty skeptical about the impact of this on the primaries. But we'll see.
Anyone who kills women and children should be castrated and sent to uranium mines for hard labor.
"Batman is only meaningful as an answer to a world which in its basics is chaotic and in the hands of the wrong people, where no justice can be found. I think it's very suitable to our perception of the world's condition today... Batman embodies the will to resist evil" -Frank Miller
"Conan, what's the meaning of life?" "To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women!" -Conan the Barbarian
"Well, yeah." -Jason E. Perkins
"If I had a dime for every time Pariah was right about something I'd owe twenty cents." -Ultimate Jaburg53
"Fair enough. I defer to your expertise." -Prometheus
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I couldn't tell if he was cheering or angry. I didn't wanna say anything about it because I thought it might be in-Sindh-iary.
(Sindh - one of the four provinces of Pakistan)
This is not vengeance. This is pun-ishment.
"The goodness of the true pun is in the direct ratio of its intolerability." — Edgar Allan Poe
It's based on nothing. The alt is so desperate to make accusations that I inadvertently forced out its retardation by encouraging it to over-extrapolate my simple statement in which I said Bhutto was shot.
I should be ambiguous more often so its own stupidity can be self-demonstrated yet again.
Oh, you know you wanked off to the FOXNEWS snuff footage.
But it's sweet you were bothered enough to respond.
......You're Matt Kennedy.
I have no idea if Pariah Carey is Matt Kennedy but find it odd that you would guess an old poster like that. Was he even still around when you started posting?
You're wannabuyamonkey. At least wbam was a fellow neocon.
And no, MEM, I'm not the World's Fattest Vegan. I knew -of- him (unfortunately )-- he was about as far Left as WB is to the Right. Last I'd heard his wife dumped him, he dropped off the internet and moved back home to KY to get his tummy stapled.
I don't know what Pari's attraction to him is... opposites attract, I guess. Maybe Mr. K spurned him.
Oh, you know you wanked off to the FOXNEWS snuff footage.
But it's sweet you were bothered enough to respond.
......You're Matt Kennedy.
I have no idea if Pariah Carey is Matt Kennedy but find it odd that you would guess an old poster like that. Was he even still around when you started posting?
I showed up about a week or two after he left....And now it seems he's reappeared.
At least wbam was a fellow neocon. 
