Posted on 12/30/2007 8:53:39 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
Bhutto 'blocked from hiring US bodyguards'
By Philip Sherwell in New York
Last Updated: 12:46am GMT 31/12/2007
Benazir Bhutto was so fearful for her life that she tried to hire British and American security experts to protect her, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.
But the plans collapsed because President Pervez Musharraf refused to allow the foreign contractors to operate in Pakistan, according to senior aides.
"She asked to bring in trained security personnel from abroad," said Mark Siegel, her US representative. "In fact she and her husband repeatedly tried to get visas for such protection, but they were denied by the government of Pakistan."
advertisementMs Bhutto's entourage discussed deals with the American Blackwater operation, this newspaper has learnt. Sources within the British private security industry said that she also had negotiations with the London-based firm Armor Group, which guards UK diplomats in the Middle East - last night the company said that it had no knowledge of any talks.
A Blackwater spokesman confirmed the negotiations. "We were approached to provide prime minister Bhutto's security, but an agreement was unfortunately never reached," she said. She declined to go into the precise details.
Ms Bhutto contacted officials, diplomats and friends in America, Europe and the Gulf to urge Gen Musharraf to improve her security following the suicide bomb attacks that killed more than 140 during her homecoming parade on Oct 19.
Indeed, US diplomats took the highly unusual step of providing her directly with confidential US intelligence about militant threats to her life.
Pakistan's interior ministry also passed on details of plots against her and aides said that letters containing death threats had been smuggled into her home.
Husain Haqqani, a US-based Bhutto adviser, confirmed that she wanted to use private international security contractors but said that the Musharraf regime would not approve the plan.
He added that America, which has arranged for private contractors to guard the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and leaders in Iraq, was reluctant to press Gen Musharraf, its ally, to change his mind. This was despite Washington seeing Ms Bhutto as a lynchpin in its crucial diplomatic attempt to encourage Pakistan to return to democracy.
Mr Siegel's comments will add to the long-running controversy over Ms Bhutto's security arrangements, which were widely regarded as woefully inadequate given the seriousness of the threats against her from al-Qaeda, the Taliban and others.
She relied largely on using a "human shield" of loyal followers who would form a ring around her, but as Thursday's attack proved, it was little real protection against a determined assailant.
Some security industry specialists have suggested, however, that there may have been other reasons why the help of foreign security firms was not enlisted.
Being surrounded by foreign bodyguards would have added to criticisms that Ms Bhutto was in the pocket of the West - an accusation levelled at President Karzai - and might not have been welcomed by her own Pakistani security staff. But the companies could have taken a back role as consultants and trained locals in bodyguard techniques to maintain a Pakistani face to her entourage.
"It's odd and disturbing that the Pakistan government did not do a better job of protecting her and that the US apparently could not do more to persuade them," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and former National Security Council director for South Asia. "She made it very clear privately and publicly that she did not have enough security. That was abundantly clear after the attack on her return.
"I can't explain why the Bush administration didn't pressure Musharraf to do more. Her death leaves the US with a Pakistan policy that is completely bankrupt."
But, but, I thought the MSM said that Blackwater was evil.
thanks for posting this, it makes more sense. As we here know, ya can’t always believe what the press initially reports
What crap.
...and now the Communist DUmmies are confused deciding how to blame the Evil Bush Regime for not sending the Evil Blackwater Death Squad.
Nothing to see here, Musharraf is our friend. Let's give him another $10 billion and more weapons.
Hope the weapons include AMRAAMs to shoot down Osama’s stealth carpets.
Bookmarking for later. Thanks!
Who exactly was it that forced Ms. Bhutto to stand up through the sun roof, in pebble-tossing range of 100s?
If she was so terrified about her safety, why did she stand up and make herself such an easy taraget?
I think they meant the Washington press and maybe a few libs at the State Department.
I think the fact that she was standing through the sunroof was telling. It appears that she didn’t take her security that seriously, for whatever reason.
Firstly,Bhutto was campaigning in an election,where she was arguably the frontrunner to win.Anyone who has observed politics in Asia(or anywhere outside the world) will tell you that leaders have to take such risks to build a rapport with the masses.It’s the price to pay for power.Foolish maybe,but that’s the truth.Leaders who have an equal or higher threat perception than Benazir have been doing that for ages-how have they survived?
Aaaah. But Blackwater does a good job and they will die before they will let die the people they protect. She should have tried to bring them in anyway. Musharraf would have buckled.
We should support Mushareff’s rule for at least another 10 years, till Pakistan is ready for democracy. We don’t want to make the same mistake we made with the Shah.
President Pervez Musharraf walk the walk all these years for what so Bhutto could capitalized off of it. I am sorry for the way it ended but that area is a kindle box, she should have volunteered to work with Musharraf in some capacity she wants to return and dismantle all the safty nets that were put in place.
I don’t fine her having the country interest at heart but her own power resrored.
I trust President Pervez Musharraf to know the ins and outs of what needed to be done in this time in histroy it is not like things were calm over there.
I think our state department had a hand in underminding this they are not friends to Bush but to the Dems.
Or, if she just had to stand and wave, she should have invested into her own Popemobile. It can't be that expensive, look at the pictures; probably the whole job can be done within $10K (a decent camper costs about $20K, as a comparison.) If she couldn't afford that she should have stayed home.
Basically, her murder wouldn't be prevented even by a brigade of Secret Service agents, as long as she is not listening to their demands. A group of SS agents would be probably able to take out a lone gunman at a close range, but that only would require a sniper 100 yards away; in such a crowd nobody would have seen him. A suicide bomber is even less detectable; the security detail would simply have to keep a large empty space around the car - something that Bhutto would be complaining about. Security can be provided only if the protected person does what his protectors tell him, quickly, correctly and without debate.
“It’s odd and disturbing that the Pakistan government did not do a better job of protecting her and that the US apparently could not do more to persuade them,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer and former National Security Council director for South Asia. “I can’t explain why the Bush administration didn’t pressure Musharraf to do more. Her death leaves the US with a Pakistan policy that is completely bankrupt.”
Bruce now works for the liberal think-tank, the Brookings Institute. He also worked with Bubba Clinton on Mideast “peace process”. To him, Bubba could do no wrong.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC07.php?CID=75
Holy crap...... this is enlightening. The more we learn the more we see who is to blame for this.
But, but, Blackwater guys are all evil and bad and they should be banned, outlawed, and and and. Our liberals say that, and even though some of our politicians use them for their security they stay silent when back in the US, and they allow the trash talkers to spew their venom without ever raising an objection about baseless accusations against those who were protecting THEM in part while in Iraq/Afghanistan etc.
What happened with Bhutto is the perfect example of WHY you use organizations like Blackwater, Triple Canopy, Aries, or DynCorps. They are professionals and they are loyal to their employer who pays them. They have the assets in people, hardware and size as well as established systems to do the job right; they have talented, experienced, highly motivated, well resourced people that are “trustworthy” (Something not common). They are not infiltrated with people who have conflicts of interests and a Karzai (DynCorps) can be confident he’s in good hands.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,62152,00.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/04/07/attack/main548061.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/09/16/afghanistan.karzai/index.html
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/06/10/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Violence.php
BTH, the same liberal media which attacked Blackwater in Iraq attacked DynCorps in Afghanistan for being “too heavy handed” as well. Dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t – now with Bhutto they spin it in a way that is 180 degrees contradicting of what they argued just three months ago.
Bruce now works for the liberal think-tank, the Brookings Institute. He also worked with Bubba Clinton on Mideast “peace process”
He's also quoted by Ray McGovern of VIPS, IIRC, in an article on the recent "Iran nukes R&D" NIE ... and he's quoted in articles on lefty sites about allegations of torture on KSM. VIPS is the pro-leak group which pitched a fit over the Valerie Plame CIA leak a while back...
The security there was non-existent. Driving in an open car at low speed with people able to walk right up to it! Rule #1 - A bomb-proof car will not protect the client if her head is sticking out through a sun roof. Blackwater could have told her that.
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