Perils of Pakistan – – The Washington Times, America’s Newspaper
Mrs. Bhutto’s e-mail added, “The fact that militants hold open meetings without fear of retaliation proves the Musharraf regime is totally inept, unwilling or colluding in their expansion.
“Our rapprochement talks with Musharraf have foundered in the quicksand of his failing promises. There is no move towards democracy. It’s either back to dictatorship [1999] or back to a rigged election [2002]. Or Musharraf is replaced with a pliant interim government for two years run from behind the scene by the same military hard-liners. They claim in two years they can push NATO out of Afghanistan and replace president [Hamid] Karzai with one of their own, betting that the U.S. will be caught up in presidential elections for one year and it will take another year for the new administration to settle in.”
By way of conclusion, Mrs. Bhutto’s e-mail said, “The situation is grim, the risks are high, but I have faith in the people to turn around the problem if we can get a real election.” That horizon seems to be receding.
There are several hundred, if not thousands, of jihadis willing to commit suicide to assassinate Mrs. Bhutto. This, in turn, could trigger a civil war in a country with an estimated 50 nuclear weapons and delivery