Hillary now says Pakistan troops might have killed Bhutto...after she defended Musharraf in August

[jefferson_dem]

This was Hillary's position on Pakistan, on August 7 --

But Clinton countered by saying that while U.S. forces might have to pursue action inside Pakistan "on the basis of actionable intelligence," it was "a very big mistake to telegraph that and to destabilize the Musharraf regime, which is fighting for its life against the Islamist extremists who are in bed with al Qaeda and the Taliban."

"Remember, Pakistan has nuclear weapons. The last thing we want is to have al Qaeda-like followers in charge of Pakistan and having access to nuclear weapons."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/07/obama.pakistan/index.html

***

Now this is her position, today --

Hillary: Pakistan troops might have killed Bhutto
BY GLENN THRUSH
11:16 PM EST, December 29, 2007

Hillary Rodham Clinton waded into Pakistan's volatile internal political situation Saturday, raising the possibility the country's military might have assassinated Benazir Bhutto because the killing took place in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Clinton's remarks came as Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's government seemed to reject a call for an independent international investigation of the murder that Clinton and John Edwards proposed on Friday.

During a question-and-answer session at an elementary school here, Clinton offered a detailed prescription for the troubled country, suggesting that the U.S divert aid away from its military to social welfare programs.

And for the second time in as many days, she cast doubt on Musharraf's contention that the suicide bombing that led to the death of the country's most popular opposition leader was masterminded by al-Qaida.

"There are those saying that al-Qaida did it. Others are saying it looked like it was an inside job -- remember Rawalpindi is a garrison city," she said.

<SNIP>

In August, her aides accused Obama of helping to destabilize the nuclear-armed Pakistan by suggesting he'd deploy U.S. forces in the country to hunt for Osama bin Laden.

But Saturday, Clinton delved into Pakistan's internal affairs, suggesting its "feudal landowning leadership," led by Musharraf, has protected al-Qaida to preserve its tenuous grip on power. In an interview on Friday, Clinton called for an international probe into Bhutto's assassination, saying "there was no reason to trust the Pakistani government."

An Interior Ministry spokesman rejected that suggestion Saturday, saying, "I think we are capable of handling it."

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/ny-ushill1230,0,3071456,print.story?coll=ny_home_rail_headlines

[bushmeister0]

1. Bill caused this whole problem to begin with . . .

Is this what she means by citing her vast amount of experience?

NYT July 7 1999:

"After a timely intervention by President Clinton over the weekend, Pakistan may be ready to bring about the withdrawal of hundreds of armed Islamic militants fighting Indian soldiers in the mountains of Kashmir. The pledge to take 'concrete steps' on the border with India, including the withdrawal of the militants from Indian territory, was made by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a hastily scheduled meeting with Mr. Clinton in Washington. It was a welcome promise that could defuse tensions . But Mr. Sharif could have difficulty executing it. In the face of continued fighting in the mountains, he must persuade the army and supporters of the militants in Pakistan that it is the right course."

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE2DA1F3DF934A35754C0A96F958260

Got that right!

A Wiki account:

"The tension between the civilian government of Nawaz Sharif and the army had been rising for some time. General Musharraf had masterminded and launched the Kargil war against India without the knowledge of the civilian government. After being routed on the Kargil ridges by the Indian army and after worldwide condemnation and immense pressure from United States President Bill Clinton, Pakistan was forced to withdraw its forces from Jammu and Kashmir. Later, Sharif and the then CENTCOM chief Anthony Zinni also revealed that Musharraf had himself requested Sharif to order the retreat of the Pakistani army from Kargil when it became evident that the operation had not gone as planned. This embarrassment was one of the main reasons for the disagreements and lack of trust between Nawaz Sharif and Pervez Musharraf."

Just three months later Musharraf took over and Nawaz was on his way to exile in Saudi.

The fact is no one in the US government, that anyone listens to anyway, knows what the hell in going on in Pakistan or what to do about it.

[The Magistrate]

3. Can You Clarify This, Sir?

What you present is a picture of a rogue general acting in defiance of his civilian government, and the leader of the United States standing by the latter. How would you have preferred the U.S. government to act at that time?

[sandnsea]

6. I think it's a little more complicated than that

The tensions in Pakistan itself, and with Afghanistan and India, go back a long time. This is just one incident among many.

[comradebillyboy]

2. Oh My God she allows reality to intrude

and is willing to adapt her ideas to accomodate new facts. What a concept, changing ones perspective as new facts appear. How dare she adapt to a changing world!!!!!!!

[ElizabethDC]

7. :) My thoughts exactly. n/t

[Infinite Hope]

22. It amazes me how many Democrats support the tendencies of the Bush administration that pissed us off

for so long. In this case, the unwillingness to consider changing circumstances and following one fact-blind and time-blind policy.

Further, some actually support approach of Bush's corrupt power structure, only it'll be Democratic rather than Republican.

[denem]

4. What a stupid post.

First Hillary says the US should not seek to destabilize Pakistan - there is a risk of nuclear weapons getting into the (very) wrong hands.

Then Musharraf goes to election in his uniform, sacks the supreme court, jails most of the lawyers, shuts down the media, puts politicians (including Bhutto) under house arrest - then announces he's going ahead with the Jan 8 election (with almost no campaign time), lifts martial law, unrest breaks out everywhere, Bhutto is murdered and all hell breaks loose.

If anyone destabilized Pakistan, it is General Musharraf . If like Axelrod, you apportion some part of the blame to Hillary, so be it. If you are saying she is being inconsistent - nonsense. Pakistan is in crisis - it's what everyone wanted to avoid.

[sandnsea]

5. Ooooh, divert aid away from the military

Yeah, who was railed at for suggesting that? Oh yeah, the inexperienced one.

Antagonizing Musharraf at this point, with bullying bluster, not such a bright idea.

[Igel]

8. There have been a few suicide bombings in Rawalpindi.

They must all be Pakistani military.

Including the ones against the ISI and the Pakistani military itself.

Oddly, this makes post-hoc reasoning look not so bad.

[Flabbergasted]

9. What is shocking is how her comments are handled so nonchalantly politically

whereas Obama's less volatile comments last July regarding Pakistan received scathing criticism. Suggesting Al Qaeda was not behind the attacks seems like a death knell by comparison.

[denem]

10. Her comments are hardly shocking

Both Bhutto's PPP and Sharif's PML-N immediately took up this question. Clinton was remarking on something that already had wide currency within Pakistan

[Flabbergasted]

11. But not within the American Media. It opens many doors for speculation.

If the media and CIA were wrong about Al Qaeda killing Bhutto were they also wrong in other instances?

This seems like a free card given to Clinton to appear as the foreign policy leader.

[denem]

15. The media generally gets Pakistan wrong.

The Al Qaeda / Jihadist announcement was made by the Pakistani government - Musharraf, which also stated that Bhutto had been killed by hitting her head against the roof of her vechile when the suicide bomb went off. There are pictures and eyewitness accounts of Bhutto being shot through the neck and having her brains blown away.

I listen to the BBC World Service late at night - It helps me sleep and my wife doesn't like silence. You get a different perspective. Musharraf has been keeping order by making deals with various religious groups. The PPP and PML-N are the civil, secular(ish) parties, both repressed by Musharraf. Bhutto had been talking about the dangers of fundamentalism since 2001, and noted it's growth each year. She would return to Pakistan she said, when she received a pledge of safety from Musharraf. This year, almost as soon as she returned, Musharraf declared martial law and put her under house arrest. Martial law was lifted under American Pressure and now she is dead. It's not exactly rocket science.

[Flabbergasted]

16. ....

So you're saying that Martial Law and House Arrest was designed to protect her?

[denem]

19. Martial Law closed the media

House arrest stopped her campaigning. A bullet to the head stopped her altogether.

[Beacool]

20. Yep, I listen to BBC too. When I want real news I avoid the biased B.S.

That now passes for news in this country. I also listen to news from Spain, Latin America, Italy ad France. It helps to speak more than one language. LOL!!

[weeve]

12. Ha ...

Hillary just wanted to spout the words "garrison city" a few times to make her seem on top of military issues/phrasology, to make her seem tough, and in the know. Which frankly makes me worry about her doing the same as President. Pulling a Maggie Thatcher on our version of the Falklands, or god forbid, an even bigger target. Believe me, we don't need yet another Corporate Hawk right after 8 years of Bush.

"Garrison City" ... oh my.

[MethuenProgressive]

13. Obama is still peddling that "Hillary Clinton killed Bhutto" Axelrod smear?

That was a new low for the ObamaNation - which has set records in the lowness of their mudraking.

[weeve]

14. MUCK-raking

MUD-slinging. But whatever

GO EDWARDS !!

[Infinite Hope]

17. They aren't mutually exclusive positions.

The first story and the second headline aren't contradictory unless you have a superficial view of politics.

[hayu_lol]

18. ComradeBillyBoy--post 2...

Couldn't have said it better. Imagine, a situation changes and Hillary adapts to the new situation.

August: Bhutto was alive

Dec: Bhutto is dead

Sounds to me like a change in circumstances. Good for Hillary for thinking so.

[Beacool]

21. Shhh, don't confuse them with the facts!!