Pakistan's Political leaders will continue to be targets for assassination until the country is run by strict Sharia law. We recall that six months ago commandos stormed the Red Mosque and killed hundreds in a stand-off with Islamist militants ¹.

Will America allow Musharraf free reign to liquidate these jihadists? Sadly, it's unlikely. In the old days, the threat of the Assassins was eliminated by their complete and utter destruction. Every single extremist must be eradicated. Every mosque should be monitored for sermons that preach that Shariah law should be followed in Pakistan. Musharraf's mistake was in allowing the tiniest bit of Shariah Law. Unless they are living in a strict secular state, Muslims go nuts and end up following the most extreme parts of the Quran. As I've written previously, once you let a camel put its nose in the tent...

Also unfortunately, Musharraf doesn't know who his real enemies are. Instead of using US moneys to fight extremists, he used it for weapons against India. ² What a maroon!

Had Musharraf read Planck's Constant he would have known to spend every penny eliminating Islam from Pakistan. What's the point of being a dictator if you let your enemies live?

As everyone knows, merely threatening Muslim extremists with death will do nothing since they welcome and even desire death. But if that is what they want, why are we so stingy in parceling it out to them? We are so accommodating with public foot-baths and making museums Islamic-friendly yet we are so insensitive to their wishes for heavenly martyrdom. Where are our General Pattons to give them what they most desire? When did we become so lefty-weenie?

Perhaps the answer lies in our schools teaching our children to be liberals: Americablog suggests "The first thing to say about Bhutto's assassination is that any kind of rush to judgment, especially along the lines of impending doom, is probably imprudent." And of course we are also treated to the expected and trite Bush Derangement Syndrome. The author of the article was able to lay the blame for the assassination at the feet of our President and our Policy on the War on Terror: "In terms of policy implications, this is reflective of a massive US foreign policy blunder, in that the Bush administration, in a monumentally stupid move, shoved Bhutto down the throat of Musharraf (and the rest of Pakistan) as a savior, despite her lack of broad popular support and general reputation as corrupt."

Yes, let's all blame every barbaric act of Islam not on the Islamists themselves but on our foreign policy. The fact that Osama Bin Laden still holds a grudge against the Christian world for the Crusades and against the West for the downfall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 has nothing to do with present-day Muslim terror. Nothing. It's all George Bush. Before he was elected the world was all roses and sunshine; Shia were kissing Sunni asses and Wahhabis were teaching "Love the Christian Infidel" in their madrassas. Give me a break.

Related:

Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud has threatened suicide attacks against PPP Chairwoman Benazir Bhutto [Daily Times].

Details on the first attempt in October from the Counterterrorism Blog

At least four people were shot dead and an unknown number wounded at an election campaign rally for former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif [The Australian].

Sweet Spirits of Ammonia tells us to "Get ready for the rioting and more violence".

Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the killing of Benazir Bhutto Thursday, saying she was "assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy".

Here is Faultline USA's reactions to the candidates' responses to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

The Gates of Vienna is taking comments on "Whither Pakistan?"

Notes

(1):

Times On Line, Survivors defiant as siege mosque reopens

The Red Mosque crisis began after its students launched a campaign to enforce Sharia law and sent out vigilante groups to cleanse Islamabad of "Islamic vices" such as music and massage.

Security forces besieged the compound for a week before storming it on July 10, killing many of the thousands of gun-toting militants and students inside. The Government says that about 100 people were killed but witnesses say that the death toll was more like 1,500 to 2,000. Among them was Mr Aziz’s brother, Abdul Rashid Ghazi.

(2):

Counterterrorism Blog,
24 Dec 2007,
NYT Revelation: Pakistan Diverting Chunks of Counter Terror Money Against India!

US aid worth billions of dollars, given to Islamabad administration towards counter terror efforts have been ‘wasted and much of it was diverted to help finance weapons systems designed to counter India rather than fight al-Qaeda/Taliban combine.