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Pakistan: Al-Qaeda claims Bhutto's death
AKI - Adnkronos International ^ | 27 Dec. | Syed Saleem Shahzad

Posted on 12/27/2007 6:35:52 AM PST by Aristotelian

Karachi, 27 Dec. (AKI) - (by Syed Saleem Shahzad) - A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.

It is believed that the decision to kill Bhutto, who is the leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), was made by al-Qaeda No. 2, the Egyptian doctor, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

Death squads were allegedly constituted for the mission and ultimately one cell comprising a defunct Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Punjabi volunteer succeeded in killing Bhutto.

Bhutto had just addressed a pre-election rally on Thursday in the garrison town of Rawalpindi when the bomb went off.

She had come to Rawalpindi after finishing a rapid election campaign, ahead of the January polls, in Pakistan's volatile North West Frontier Province (NWFP) where she had talked about a war against terrorism and al-Qaeda.

(Excerpt) Read more at adnkronos.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: alqaeda; alqaedapakistan; alqaida; assassination; bhutto; bhuttokilled; pakistan
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I don't doubt Al-Qaeda was behind this.
1 posted on 12/27/2007 6:35:53 AM PST by Aristotelian
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To: Aristotelian

Bastards.


2 posted on 12/27/2007 6:36:43 AM PST by Brilliant
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To: Aristotelian

Thumping their chests over the cowardly killing of a woman.


3 posted on 12/27/2007 6:36:44 AM PST by Slapshot68
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To: Slapshot68

Bloomberg News reports that Bhutto received a letter from ``friends of al-Qaeda’’ on Oct. 23, threatening more suicide attacks, possibly using women bombers, her lawyer Farooq Naik said.


4 posted on 12/27/2007 6:38:54 AM PST by Aristotelian ("Don't Tase Me, Bro!")
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To: Aristotelian
First thought I had was AQ did it. Now it is confirmed. Tells me how desperate they are to throw Pakistan into chaos. The big question is have they succeeded? I pray not.
5 posted on 12/27/2007 6:40:13 AM PST by MaestroLC ("Let him who wants peace prepare for war."--Vegetius, A.D. Fourth Century)
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To: Aristotelian

why a new thread?


6 posted on 12/27/2007 6:40:44 AM PST by RDTF
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To: Brilliant

Canada’s Globe and Mail reports that the attack followed threats by militants linked to al Qaeda, angered by Ms. Bhutto’s support for Washington’s war on terrorism.


7 posted on 12/27/2007 6:41:07 AM PST by Aristotelian ("Don't Tase Me, Bro!")
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To: Aristotelian
there are reports that people have taken to the streets to protest the death of the leader of the PPP, which has the largest support of any party in Pakistan

They need to do more than protest.

8 posted on 12/27/2007 6:41:34 AM PST by FatherofFive (Choose life!)
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To: Aristotelian
They have greatly overplayed their hand. This will turn a large percentage of sympathetic types in Pakistan against them.
9 posted on 12/27/2007 6:41:42 AM PST by AmericaUnited
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To: Aristotelian
This must be an indication that AQ relocated most of their operational assets into Pakistan and Afghan.
10 posted on 12/27/2007 6:42:07 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster (kim jong-il, chia head, ppogri, In Grim Reaper we trust)
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To: Aristotelian

Bhutto’s adviser is on CNN saying that Musharraf deliberately provided lax security. For this to happen right in the backyard of Pakistani intelligence suggests that there is more involved here than mere Al Qaeda.


11 posted on 12/27/2007 6:42:21 AM PST by Saberwielder
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To: RDTF
The al-Qaeda connection is a separate story.
12 posted on 12/27/2007 6:42:37 AM PST by Aristotelian ("Don't Tase Me, Bro!")
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To: Aristotelian

I wonder how much help al-Quaeda got from the Pakistani Intelligence Services?


13 posted on 12/27/2007 6:42:42 AM PST by reagan_fanatic (Ron Paul put the cuckoo in my Cocoa Puffs)
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To: Aristotelian

Sad as it is, she had to know this was coming.


14 posted on 12/27/2007 6:42:54 AM PST by umgud (no more subprime politicians)
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To: Slapshot68
Thumping their chests over the cowardly killing of a woman.

Thumping their chests over the cowardly killing of a woman.anyone who gets in their road.

Radical islam declared WWIII over three decades ago, people better get used to the fact and quit holding hands with the PC, libs, and others who would kill America in the name of "can't we all get along?"
15 posted on 12/27/2007 6:43:24 AM PST by Issaquahking (N.H. FNC Debate "What did you do for America today?" Duncan Hunter for President!)
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To: Aristotelian
A bigger question is how would a dhimmocratic President deal with this threat?

Tea & crumpets w/ AQ?
Lots of "we really mean it or else" threats?
Claim that Fox News is a bigger threat to world peace?

16 posted on 12/27/2007 6:43:25 AM PST by kromike
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To: Aristotelian

I thought the al-Qaeda terrorist network was nothing to fear? How long before they take over the country and the nukes....still no problemo for the Dems.


17 posted on 12/27/2007 6:43:38 AM PST by 1Old Pro
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To: Aristotelian

This could easily become a major crisis in a hurry, because if the perception gathers steam among the ignorant masses (and most of them are ignorant) that Musharaff had ANYTHING to do with this (and that isn’t true, as al Qaeda has claimed responsibility) Musharaff’s government could become unstable very quickly, and that begs the question:

What do we (the U.S.) do about the Pakistani nuclear arsenal?

There has already been talk about going in and securing those weapons and getting them out of Pakistan if there was an increased risk of terrorists gaining control of them, I’d like to think those plans are already being reviewed and updated in the wake of this assassination.


18 posted on 12/27/2007 6:43:46 AM PST by mkjessup (Hunter-Bolton '08 !! Patriots who will settle for nothing less than *Victory* in the War on Terror!)
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To: Aristotelian

This will probably start a civil war. Musharraf should have opened all areas of Pakistan to coalition forces when he had the chance. Now Pakistan is going to fall into chaos.


19 posted on 12/27/2007 6:43:47 AM PST by burzum (None shall see me, though my battlecry may give me away -Minsc)
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To: Aristotelian

Al quaida you are going down. You ugly hairy freakazoids. You dress like women and kill women because you ain’t real men.


20 posted on 12/27/2007 6:45:02 AM PST by yldstrk (My heros have always been cowboys--Reagan and Bush)
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To: Saberwielder
Bhutto’s adviser is on CNN saying that Musharraf deliberately provided lax security.

Oh bullsh*t.

Bhutto hated Musharraf, and obviously her adviser(s) still do. They're looking for a scapegoat and al Qaeda isn't convenient enough for them.
21 posted on 12/27/2007 6:45:03 AM PST by mkjessup (Hunter-Bolton '08 !! Patriots who will settle for nothing less than *Victory* in the War on Terror!)
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To: RDTF
why a new thread?

Because 6 weren't enough.

22 posted on 12/27/2007 6:45:18 AM PST by ASA Vet (Does Hillary share Huma with Bill?)
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To: Saberwielder

Yes, that’s what I was thinking too. Rawalpindi, the city where this happened, is a garrison-fort.


23 posted on 12/27/2007 6:45:55 AM PST by CarrotAndStick (The articles posted by me needn't necessarily reflect my opinion.)
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To: Saberwielder
For this to happen right in the backyard of Pakistani intelligence suggests that there is more involved here than mere Al Qaeda.

Not necessarily. It's also an indication that Musharraf does not fully control the ISI, which is known to have radical Islamic elements, including those sympathetic to AQ.

24 posted on 12/27/2007 6:45:59 AM PST by Carry_Okie (Grovelnator Schwarzenkaiser, fashionable fascism one charade at a time.)
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To: Aristotelian

It’s now time for Musharraf to rout AQ from the border towns. Or would this just cause things to worsen?


25 posted on 12/27/2007 6:46:07 AM PST by marvlus
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To: Aristotelian

Only these 7th century goat humping, child raping “warriors” of Al-Qaeda could brag about killing a woman.....

I guess they have to focus on missions they can accomplish..
Whenever they face men with weapons - they get their asses handed to them in pieces....

Folks who wring their hands over the “horror” of water boarding these miscreants -— had better wake up to the nature and objectives of this enemy...

We’re going to have to destroy a LARGE number of these people to keep them in check..


26 posted on 12/27/2007 6:46:07 AM PST by river rat (Semper Fi - You may turn the other cheek, but I prefer to look into my enemy's vacant dead eyes.)
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To: 1Old Pro

The Dems are following their prophet, Michael Moore, who stated in his book:

“There is no terrorist threat. Yes, there have been horrific acts of terrorism and, yes, there will be acts of terrorism again. But that doesn’t mean that there’s some kind of massive terrorist threat.”

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=GGLJ%2CGGLJ%3A2006-46%2CGGLJ%3Aen&q=michael+moore+%22there+is+no+terrorist+threat%22&btnG=Search


27 posted on 12/27/2007 6:46:37 AM PST by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: Aristotelian

The good news is with AQ taking credit, it gets Musharrif off the hook.


28 posted on 12/27/2007 6:46:46 AM PST by Zuben Elgenubi
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To: Aristotelian

Actually I think they were. Al Qeada is an oportunistic organization, anywhere they can cause trouble they will try. And Pakistan has been putting the hurt on them recently, so why not try and start a civil war there?

In any event, I doubt this is good for anyone involved.


29 posted on 12/27/2007 6:46:48 AM PST by Tarpon (Ignorance, the most expensive commodity produced by mankind.)
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To: Aristotelian
I don’t doubt Al-Queda was behind this either. Tears for a beautiful and courageous lady.
30 posted on 12/27/2007 6:47:05 AM PST by GOP_Lady
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To: Aristotelian

Well,
It’s official...crap. Now we wait for the lid to well and truely come off.


31 posted on 12/27/2007 6:48:07 AM PST by Braak (The US Military, the real arms inspectors!)
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To: umgud

Harvard and Oxford-educated, Bhutto attributed her interest in politics to the assassination of her father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the prime minister overthrown by General Mohammad Zia ul-Haq in a 1977 military coup, according to Bloomberg.

``I didn’t choose this life, it chose me,’’ Bhutto wrote in the preface to the second edition of her autobiography, Daughter of the East, in April 2007.


32 posted on 12/27/2007 6:48:30 AM PST by Aristotelian ("Don't Tase Me, Bro!")
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To: mkjessup

Musharraf has tolerated Al-Q it can be said without doubt.

They and Taliban have safe haven in Pakistan right now.


33 posted on 12/27/2007 6:48:32 AM PST by Nextrush (NO WAY MCCAIN but I remain uncommitted.)
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To: AliVeritas

Ping- Al Q saying they did it..


34 posted on 12/27/2007 6:49:51 AM PST by SE Mom (Proud mom of an Iraq war combat vet)
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To: MaestroLC

Al Queda wants nukes, the perceive the easiest way to get them is to put Pakistan into a civil war and then make a grab.


35 posted on 12/27/2007 6:50:35 AM PST by HD1200
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To: Aristotelian

There is now speculation by some (I just heard this on FOX) that Musharraf could possibly be behind it.


36 posted on 12/27/2007 6:54:14 AM PST by Jackknife ( "The Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, and Firearms should be a department store, not a gov't agency.")
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To: Saberwielder

I agree...Mushy’s hand is in this...


37 posted on 12/27/2007 6:54:25 AM PST by antivenom (If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much damn space!)
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To: Zuben Elgenubi

No it doesn’t, not completely. See upthread—Bhutto’s people are already accusing Musharraf of providing inadequate security that let AQ get close enough to do the deed. (As much as they hate Mushy, I find it remarkable that the first thing her supporters would do is blame him, and not the goat-screwing flea-infested cave-dwelling Islamists that ACTUALLY KILLED HER.) If that gains traction with the people, the country stands a very good chance of sliding into a full-on civil war...and that’s something that AQ would take full advantage of.

That having been said, I’m not sure how much control Mushy has over his own government. The ISI (their intelligence service/secret police) doesn’t always do what he wants, when he wants it. If Mushy wasn’t personally involved, it would not surprise me one bit if elements within the ISI were.

}:-)4


38 posted on 12/27/2007 6:55:07 AM PST by Moose4 (Wasting away again in Michaelnifongville.)
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To: AmericaUnited

Yes, this will turn half the country against AQ. Those that live by the sword, will die by the sword. AQ is self-destructive.


39 posted on 12/27/2007 6:55:25 AM PST by Rodm (Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings)
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To: ASA Vet
You might note that this is an EXCLUSIVE news story. As the story says, “Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location.” That certainly warrants a separate thread.
40 posted on 12/27/2007 6:55:34 AM PST by Aristotelian ("Don't Tase Me, Bro!")
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To: Aristotelian
But was it al-Qaeda? Pakistan is full of Islamic extremists of many different groups and any of them could claim true responsibility for the bombing.
41 posted on 12/27/2007 6:56:25 AM PST by RayChuang88
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To: Aristotelian; jveritas; FARS; Ernest_at_the_Beach; knighthawk; Marine_Uncle; SandRat; Steel Wolf; ..

Al Qaeda claims the blame ping.


42 posted on 12/27/2007 6:57:30 AM PST by elhombrelibre (GEN Petraeus is MAN of the YEAR. Ron Paul is the Jane Fonda of the year.)
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To: Aristotelian

Sure they all do.


43 posted on 12/27/2007 6:57:34 AM PST by ASA Vet (Does Hillary share Huma with Bill?)
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To: HD1200
Al Queda wants nukes, the perceive the easiest way to get them is to put Pakistan into a civil war and then make a grab.

I remember reading an article not too long ago that for several months now, Musharaf has been very quietly allowing the U.S. Military to assist in guarding his nuclear stockpiles.

Thus, I'm not saying that there's nothing to worry about, but if the article is true, then this latest development may not be as significant where Pakistan's nuclear stockpiles are concerned.

44 posted on 12/27/2007 6:57:47 AM PST by kromike
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To: burzum
Now Pakistan is going to fall into chaos.

That's pretty much what I think is coming, too. I'm wondering if India will take advantage of this situation? This could get very ugly....

45 posted on 12/27/2007 6:59:14 AM PST by Thermalseeker (Debates? Those weren't no stinkin' debates!)
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To: Aristotelian

BTTT


46 posted on 12/27/2007 6:59:35 AM PST by PGalt
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To: Aristotelian

while i believe it, i haven’t heard any claim of responsibility yet while watching FOX News. Some journalist in Pakistan who was being interviewed on FOX has reported that crowds on the streets are putting more blame on Musharref rather than al-Qaeda


47 posted on 12/27/2007 6:59:45 AM PST by mfnorman (Jack Murtha: a Lee Harvey Oswald type of marine)
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To: mkjessup

Agreed. That Sharif character was thrown out by Musharraf. He has an axe to grind. I’m assuming the quote about lax security on Musharraf’s part was made by him.

I would hope cooler heads can prevail in that country, even if that number is woefully small.


48 posted on 12/27/2007 7:00:10 AM PST by SueRae
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To: elhombrelibre

Thanks, what a surprise.


49 posted on 12/27/2007 7:00:21 AM PST by Grampa Dave ("Ron Paul and his flaming antiwar spam monkeys can Kiss my Ass!!"- Jim Robinson, Sept, 30, 2007)
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To: MaestroLC

“Now it is confirmed.” Facts not in evidence.

When it’s convenient we believe the press? AQ could claim it for the simple reason that they would get more street cred w/ their supporters.

More importantly, is that the purpose of terrorism is to create terror. Anarchy to follow.


50 posted on 12/27/2007 7:01:12 AM PST by PurpleMan
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