Al Qaeda denies killing Bhutto

[burythehatchet]

Indo Asian News Service
Islamabad, December 29, 2007
http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/al-qaeda-ally-mehsud-denies-bhutto-killing-8.html
Baitullah Mehsud, the Al Qaeda-linked Pakistani militant who has been named as a key suspect in the killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has denied any involvement in the assassination, his spokespersons said on Saturday.

"I strongly deny it. Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women," Mehsud's spokesperson Maulvi Umer said from an unknown location. Umer is the spokesperson of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Pakistan chapter of the Taliban which was formed recently.

"This is absolutely wrong to say that Taliban or any member of the Taliban were involved in murder of Benazir Bhutto," Umer said.

The government had blamed Mehsud for Bhutto's assassination at an election rally in Rawalpindi on Thursday.



I realize that transnational terror conglomerates usually like to take credit for their hits, but in this case, for an unknown reason, they must surely be misleading us.

[TwilightGardener]

1. Someone's not playing by the script.

[burythehatchet]

3. I believe the confusion is that Al-Queda's Wash DC branch was involved

the Asian branch was not involved.

[TwilightGardener]

5. LOL! They really need to coordinate better with the home office, then!

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. No possibility that there are bad guys other than "Al Qaeda" in the world?

[burythehatchet]

6. No. I am unable to comprehend the scale of this massive scam and fraud

and the real life implications it is having for us and many generations to follow.

[tekisui]

4. Originally in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda took credit.

They claimed it was part of a plan to take out Bhutto and Mushy, for cooperating with us infidels.

Now, they, in Pakistan deny responsibility. I think they are taking advantage of public perception that mushy was involved. They benefit from the chaos, and want him out anyway.

[burythehatchet]

8. alternatively, Mushy's working both sides, and we get to pay for it.

[LynnTheDem]

9. Did they?

Or was that "obscure Italian website" a bunch of bullshit?

[tekisui]

10. It was in Asia Times, among others

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2556133&mesg_id=2556133

[LynnTheDem]

13. And CNN, so gee, it must be true!

Officials: Al Qaeda claims responsibility for Bhutto killing

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin Thursday citing an alleged claim of responsibility by al Qaeda for former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, a DHS official told CNN.

But such a claim has not appeared on radical Islamist Web sites that regularly post such messages from al Qaeda and other militant groups.

The source of the claim was apparently Italian news agency, Adnkronos International (AKI), which said that al Qaeda Afghanistan commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid had telephoned the agency to make the claim.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/12/27/bhutto.dhs.alqaeda/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

[tekisui]

14. I tend to agree.

The story of Al-Qaeda taking credit may be much like the *intercepted phone call* of qadea's high-fiveing.

I simply don't see haw Musharraf can survive this.

[LynnTheDem]

16. Decider Mushie will try to survive it by military might against his own people

while the US government applauds him for doing so.

All in the cause of "democracy" and "fighting terror", of course. :sarcasm:

[Boojatta]

7. "Tribal people have their own customs. We don't strike women."

Wow! Maybe we can get Al Qaeda to throw some of its members out of the organization. On second thought maybe not. Surely none of them would ever strike a woman. (not sure what kind of smilie would be appropriate here)

[tekisui]

11. Maybe the discrepancy is due to local gangs of qaeda?

On of the Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan did it and didn't have Al-Qaeda in Pak in on it?

Further, has Al-Qaeda ever successfully assassinated individual leaders before?

[Recursion]

12. It's not AQ's MO

1. It was a targeted assassination of a single political figure - AQ pretty much exclusively does mass-casualties on "anonymous" people. Their only assassinations to date have been on each other during periods of infighting.

2. Bhutto was the "near enemy", as they say: UBL and Zawahiri broke off from the Muslim Brotherhood specifically because MB wanted to strike the near enemy and the nucleus that became AQ wanted to strike the far enemy (ie, us).

3. It was very poorly planned and relied on luck. AQ operations to date have been extensively planned and don't leave elements of the attack to chance. (If she had not stuck her head out of the sunroof, it would have just been another bombing of her caravan.)

4. It was a single attack with no follow-up attack on the responders and crowds. That is AQ's technique and a large part of the effectiveness of their attacks.

5. It was a deeply unpopular attack among middle- and working-class Pakistanis -- AQ attacks to recruit, not to drive recruits away.

6. Mehsud denies it, as the OP links. What's the point of a terrorist attack if you deny it?

My thoughts on possible attackers:

1. A former faction of AQ that broke away from central c&c

2. The Muslim Brotherhood

3. The ISI

4. Unaffiliated pan-Islamists (my guess)

5. Hindu militants (it would be a mistake to ignore this possibility, IMO)

[Boojatta]

15. "What's the point of a terrorist attack if you deny it?"

In this case it was an assassination. Can you not imagine a motive for an assassination that would be consistent with denial of responsibility for the assassination?

[applegrove]

17. Chickens. They did it but they don't want the rath. Freaks. Assholes. Monsters.