Thursday, December 27, 2007
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Bhutto Murdered: Candidates Respond
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Posted by:
Mary Katharine Ham at
10:44 AM
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Rudy Giuliani:
“The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a tragic event for Pakistan and for democracy in Pakistan. Her murderers must be brought to justice and Pakistan must continue the path back to democracy and the rule of law. Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere — whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi — is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the Terrorists’ War on Us.” Mike Huckabee:
“I am deeply troubled by the news accounts this morning of Pakistani opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s assassination in a suicide attack. This is devastating news for the people of Pakistan, and my prayers go out to them as we follow developments regarding this dire situation.
”The terrible violence surrounding Pakistan’s upcoming election stands in stark contrast to the peaceful transition of power that we embrace in our country through our Constitution. On this sad day, we are reminded that while our democracy has flaws, it stands as a shining beacon of hope for nations and people around the world who seek peace and opportunity through self-government.”
Mitt Romney:
"We are still learning the details of today's tragic events in Pakistan, but this is a stark reminder that America must not only stay on high alert, but remain actively engaged across the globe. Pakistan has long been a key part in the war against extremism and radical jihadists. For those who think Iraq is the sole front in the War on Terror, one must look no further than what has happened today. America must show its commitment to stand with all moderate forces across the Islamic world and together face the defining challenge of our generation – the struggle against violent, radical jihadists.
"At this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers go to the family of Benazir Bhutto, and to all the people of Pakistan who are fighting against extremist forces that would commit such heinous acts as the whole world has witnessed today."
John McCain:
McCain, in a statement, said the death of Bhutto "underscores yet again the grave dangers we face in the world today and particularly in countries like Pakistan, where the forces of moderation are arrayed in a fierce battle against those who embrace violent Islamic extremism.
"Given Pakistan's strategic location, the international terrorist groups that operate from its soil, and its nuclear arsenal, the future of that country has deep implications for the security of the United States and its allies. America must stand on the right side of this ongoing struggle," he said, noting that he has made numerous visits to Pakistan.
Barack Obama:
"I am shocked and saddened by the death of Benazir Bhutto in this terrorist atrocity. She was a respected and resilient advocate for the democratic aspirations of the Pakistani people. We join with them in mourning her loss, and stand with them in their quest for democracy and against the terrorists who threaten the common security of the world." Hillary Clinton:
"I am profoundly saddened and outraged by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a leader of tremendous political and personal courage. I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile. Mrs. Bhutto's concern for her country, and her family, propelled her to risk her life on behalf of the Pakistani people. She returned to Pakistan to fight for democracy despite threats and previous attempts on her life and now she has made the ultimate sacrifice. Her death is a tragedy for her country and a terrible reminder of the work that remains to bring peace, stability, and hope to regions of the globe too often paralyzed by fear, hatred, and violence. "Let us pray that her legacy will be a brighter, more hopeful future for the people she loved and the country she served. My family and I extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to the victims and their families and to the people of Pakistan."
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is the only statement that delivers shivers down the spine of the assasins..they are crapping in their pants when Romney released that statement |
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I surprised Hucklebee knew who Bhutto was.
Notice how he is troubled, he is praying, and he is reminded that our democracy has flaws!!!!!!
Yep, he's real presidential material. |
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I guess Ron Paul & the Dem's will be doing damage control as they try to marginalize this event (which reminds Americans of the global threat posed by radical jihadists who want us dead.) |
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LOL!!!!!
Did he stay at Holiday Inn Express last night!!!!!
LOL!!!!!
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Bush Seeks to Restore Tattered U.S. Image With Heavy ‘08 Travel
Why does Bush need to restore tatterd U.S image if his nation building plan is working?
B- President George W. Bush’s diplomatic passport will acquire a slew of new country stamps during his final year in office as he tries to rebuild the U.S.’s international standing and create a foreign-policy legacy beyond Iraq.
The president plans trips to the Middle East, Africa, Asia and South America, which would make 2008 his busiest year abroad. While his major domestic initiatives may get stalled by a Democratic majority in Congress and the gridlock caused by election-year politics, he still has an opportunity to exert his influence overseas.
READ MORE
http://controlcongress.com/uncategorized/bush-seeks-to-rest ore-tattered-us-image-with#comments
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This blog is in response to the death of a very brave woman. She sacrificed her own life to further the causes of democracy and moderation in Pakistan, a nation beset with extremism. Please save the jokes and the Huckabee-bashing for a later date or a different blog. Respect for and remembrance of the fallen is all that is needed here. |
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to speak ill of the dead...for starters, Tron, see http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318525,00.html and http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9079076 for the rest of story of Ms Bhutto's corrupt government and party.
She was a former head of a number of corrupt regimes and she and her husband were convicted of the offense. She was not eligible for re-election in any case. Heads of state get very nervous when other state heads are shot.
Her being "very brave" and "sacrificing her life in the name of democracy and moderation" amongst the extremists/Philistines hardly holds true and does not merit your comments.
I noted only Giuliani and Romney spoke with iron in their voices. The rest of the usual suspects delivered namby/pamby Milquetoast types of response. |
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Obama used the "T-word". I thought terrorism was a Bush-ism? Is this a misprint? |
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Reported on Drudge, from CBS news -
From CBS News' Nancy Cordes:
ORLANDO, FLA. -- With about 150 supporters crowded around a podium set up on the tarmac of Orlando Executive airport (and about 20 Ron Paul supporters waving signs outside) Mike Huckabee strode out to the strains of “Right Now” by Van Halen and immediately addressed the Bhutto situation, expressing “our sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan.”
I think the "apologies" is an odd choice of words. |
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Blackthorne writes: "She was a former head of a number of corrupt regimes and she and her husband were convicted of the offense."
That may be, but she was still the best you would find in Pakistan--a pro-Western, mostly secular politician who isn't sadistic or bloodthirsty.
You're not going to find saints springing up in these Islamist countries--the culture's inverted moral code won't permit it.
It's all well and good to say that we should only support sincere, ethical, squeaky-clean, pro-Western democrats in the Islamist world.
Except for one thing: There aren't any!
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With about 150 supporters crowded around a podium set up on the tarmac of Orlando Executive airport (and about 20 Ron Paul supporters waving signs outside), Mike Huckabee strode out to the strains of “Right Now” by Van Halen and immediately addressed the Bhutto situation, expressing “our sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan.”
http://tinyurl.com/yt4n9r
APOLOGIES???
Shades of Jimmy Carter!
It was only afterward that his staff wrote and issued the press release that Mary Katherine Ham quoted.
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A recent commentor asserted Bhutto was the "best" leader that could be found for Pakistan. A corrupt criminal? Just because she's the one who was educated in America and knew how to use American phrases, doesn't even begin to qualify her for the position of "best" leader. Yes, Pakistan has terrible moral problems that are holding the country back from where it could be--but so is my own country the United States. I wish America had not foisted Bhutto back into Pakistani politics. The justice system of Pakistan accused her of corruption and forced her to leave or face charges. American "do gooders" decided she was their choice. Musharref has done more to curb corruption than any of his predecessors. This mess has just made it harder for anyone to control the craziness. |
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Sorry Tron, but if a weakling like Huck gets elected, then leaders like Bhutto will continue to die in vain as the "U.S. Bunker Mentality" of dealing with the war on terror goes away.
This event should remind Americans that we want a leader (not a pastor) to run this country. Staying at a Holiday Inn Express is no substitute for good leadership.
Any GOP candidate (other than Paul) is better than Huck. I will politicize this event as much as possible - Bhutto's mission in life was to make waves of change in this torn up world. In other words, yes - she would want people like Hawk and S.E. Tex using her death as an opportunity to tell people like Huck and Tron2000 to shut up. |
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Lately this site has read like a bloopers reel from the PTL Club. So many Christians proclaiming the superiority of their faith and morality. Yet a women dies violently and it's just another chance to bash other people for how you think they should have responded
Kind of makes one wonder how much you really believe what you preach. |
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Hill is becoming somewhat of a Forrest Gump figure- always in the thick of important things; in her estimation, anyway.
For justpaul, Christians are not called to be weeping saps void of discernment skills. "Superiority" is also not a Christian claim. Sounds like you've had bad church experiences (and there are plenty to have)and equate that with Christianity. |
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thrown out, according to Greta on Fox. I missed the reason, if she gave it (she was doing a time line on Ms. Bhutto's activities in recent years).
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The butchery and theft of oil-rich, Muslim nations - as America has done - could it be that you risk allowing ALL friends of democracy to fall under suspicion, and into danger?
Naw - must be that other theory you geniuses are weaving.
***
Whenever the poison ivy of terrorism abates, you twits say it's because of how hard you scratched at it. Whenever it flares back up, you say it's because you didn't scratch hard enough.
Psychopathic. |
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Rudy Giuliani getting vaguer and vaguer says "terrorism...is an enemy of freedom". Is that like saying up is an enemy of down? Or is terrorism perhaps too much freedom? Think about it...
Mike Huckabee using keyword "prayers" reminds us that Pakistan is inferior to us because of the US Constitution which Huckabee ignores, clearly running his campaign on a curious melding of church and state.
Mitt Romney uses the opportunity to fear-monger and preach imperialist intervention: "America must not only stay on high alert, but remain actively engaged across the globe" - he talks of the "struggle against violent, radical jihadists" as if he knows radicals killed Bhutto. In fact it could just as well be an act carried out by sympathizers of Musharref or could even be another US-backed black bag operation to keep Pakistan run by US puppets...
John McCain echoed this: "...the future of that country has deep implications for the security of the United States and its allies. America must stand on the right side of this ongoing struggle," he said, yet did not elucidate what the "right side" actually means.
All these vultures have used this event to further their messages - why not take a moment to be selfless? Hillary had to add that she met the woman many times, but said nothing of Bhutto's struggle last week or anytime before.
Noticably absent was a quote from Ron Paul who might have reminded us that Pakistan's fate has long been decided by US intervention. We installed a puppet ruler there to replace a democratically elected leader. This military dictator served our needs in combatting Soviet forces until 1988, after which he soon died in a mysterious plane crash. If we truly cared about democracy in Pakistan, we would dismantle covert operations there. |
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Every time Mike Huckabee speaks someone has to pick out one word in his statement and turn it into an attack add. Media Matters has taught our side a great new trick; which is pick out one word or phrase from statement someone makes and twist it's meaning to make the person look bad. (Rush listeners know what I'm talking about if I mention the term "Phony Soldiers")! Not one posting above has a real s-o-l-u-t-i-o-n to the tradgedy that happened in Pakistan and not one Presidential candidate offered a real solution either. It's so easy to stand back and take pot shots; isn't it guys and gals! Mike Huckabee has sound long term solutions to this type of thuggery action by Alqedia, foreign dictatorships and sheks and they are the following.
(1) Increase our military strength and expand the defense budget. Alqedia is a world enemy and we must seek them out and destroy them where ever they are.
(2) Complete a border fence along the Mexican Border by July 1, 2010 and truly get a handle on imigration. We are being invaded, folks and we have got to stop it.
(3) Achieve U.S.A. Energy independence within the next 10 years - all options are on the table. Quit stalling, suck it up and actually do it!
(4)Have a more "Fair Tax" system. Tax what people consume, not their productivity.
(5) Insure a bountiful food supply is grown in this country. We are exporting jobs so fast in this country it's scary. I'm from North Carolina and have seen the clothing industry completely disappear in the last decade. We can't let that happen to our food supply.
These are solutions, folks and they're Mike Huckabee's solutions. That's why I'm voting for him for President!!
** And if you noticed I didn't take a single pot shot at any of you or any other candidate.
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Far be it for me to attempt to curb anyone's enthusiasism. All of the ideas you mentioned are good, but are they Huckabee's ideas or are they yours, and you are associating them with Huckabee because he is your candidate? I am not being contentious here, I'm asking you to honestly ask yourself this question. You see, I also thought Huck was the man for all the same reasons you mention (particularly the Fair tax). Then I started learning more about the guy and realized he was not the hard-core conservative I thought he was. I like the guy, don't get me wrong, and I would vote for him in the general election, but not in the primary. The fair tax is great, but it does not cancel out the obvious traces of liberalism that follow Gov. Huckabee's record. His stance on energy independence is to pay lip service to corn growers in Iowa; by first accepting the premise that the world is warming AND that it's our fault AND that the only way to solve the problem is to develop new fuels using ethanol and so forth. I'm sorry, this does not come close to solving our energy needs, and it actually exacerbates the problem. This is but one example, there are plenty more, and I did not take one pot shot at you or at Gov. Huckabee. |
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"A Bad Day for Ron Paul & the Dem's"
Try again - this is just further unravling of Bush's plans - his absurd focus on Iraq has allowed Al Queda to grow strong elsewhere, this time they are gaining in a nation truly armed with WMDs, distracting us as they send the children of European and Arab Muslims to Iraq to plant IEDs and kill Americans and/or disrupt THAT society - tying our hands and emptying our coffers meanwhile they lose nothing. Bush BANKED on Bhutto and he lost. And if Americans do the math - Saudi Arabia and Pakistan = terrorism = Bush's allies = FAILURE in the WOT. Iraq = FAILURE.
So the great SURGE(tm) ebbed violence in iraq - violence we brought upon that nation. Meanwhile, Bin Laden - still free, builds a Nuclear state in Pakistan as Afghanistan still struggles with the Taliban...
Good job, boys! |
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I appreciate your honest debating on the facts, HankRearden. You sound like an honest and honorable man. The ideas I listed above are not mine, but directly from Mike Huckabee's website. I read and studied them closely, not once, but several times. I did not take the idea of supporting the man lightly. I truly do care about our country's future. Energy independence is the core of our nations future. I know we must stop our enimes cold in their tracks, but for now lets stick the subject of energy.
See my next post for my points of debate. I used too many words for one posting.
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(1) Congress passed a bill and President Bush signed into law the new 2007 energy bill that requires The U.S. to use 36 billion gallons of biofuel in 2022. For now that's corn. Strange as it sounds I agree with you on this one, however its the law of the land, so you're not pandering to corn growers if its the law.
(2) Mike wants a comprehensive plan. Explore, conserve, use nuclear, clean coal, solar, wind, biodiesel. Research new ideas. Then; not mandate use of a certain energy, but let the free market place determind which is best.
(3) I've done a great deal of research on energy in the last few months and I believe we can be energy independent in the next ten years if we focus as a nation on it. First we must drill for oil in Alaska and do more deep sea drilling. There are hugh reserves in both of these places and its just sitting there for the taking. Along with the drilling we need to build new refineries. Second, we must build more nuclear power plants. Nuclear is the cleanest and most efficient energy source there is. Third, we need to prepare for using more solar power. There is coming what I call a convergence point in 5 or 6 years when solar will be a viable alternative. 20 years ago it cost 100 dollars per watt to produce solar. Today it costs 7 cents per watt. A University of Colorodo professor recently developed a new inovation that allows us to produce solar energy for 2 cents per watt. Soalr is coming. We need to prepare for it. Forth, we can't take coal off the table. It's our most abundent source. Stopping the use of coal is counter productive.
(4) We can achieve energy independence; we just need a man who can use the bully pulit of a President to hammer out a solution. I'm tired of reterick. I want solutions. And I truly delieve Mike Huckabee is a man of conviction and can get the job done. |
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taj writes: "Musharref has done more to curb corruption than any of his predecessors."
As an American, you should be more concerned with Pakistani terrorism than with Pakistani corruption.
Musharraf made a deal with the Taliban to give them virtual free rein in Waziristan. That means, of course, al-Qaeda got a sanctuary again--and they've been making the most of it.
Benezir Bhutto wasn't perfect; she was an aristocrat rather than a leader of the people. But she was pro-Western and she advocated a crackdown on Islamists. That's why al-Qaeda had her assassinated, as they themselves have said. Not because they feared she was corrupt. But because they feared she would be a threat to them.
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He asks: "The butchery and theft of oil-rich, Muslim nations - as America has done - could it be that you risk allowing ALL friends of democracy to fall under suspicion, and into danger?"
Ask India. India has been victimized by Islamic terrorism since long before you were born.
What did India do to "provoke" Islamic attacks on their country?
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WWJD says: "If we truly cared about democracy in Pakistan, we would dismantle covert operations there."
You're throwing that example up to us???
This may come as a surprise to you, but a whole lot of us conservatives are *NOT* sold on Bush's messianic scheme to being "democracy" to the Muslim world. I don't think it's possible, not in the immediate future anyway. The Islamic culture is too primitive, too warlike, too tribal, too mystical, and too violent for that.
The concern of the U.S. Government should be the security of the American people. And that means that our main interest in Pakistan, a nuclear power, is to see to it that a government hostile to U.S. interests and sympathetic to al-Qaeda does *NOT* get into power, and look the other way while al-Qaeda gets its hands on nuclear weapons. Because if that happens, we might as all all start digging bomb shelters here in America.
I don't really care how "democratic" the government of Pakistan is. I do care whether that government keeps its nukes under lock and key, and neither threatens to use them (as the Iranian mullahs have done) nor gives them to terrorists.
Bush is leaving office in a year. And the GOP has to think long and hard about whether it still wants to advocate the "democratization" (whatever that means) of Islamist countries as a practical solution to terrorism.
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All I'm saying is that your country's attempt to export democratic ideals might enjoy more success - and suffer fewer tragic failures - if in the process it managed to keep its grubby hands off of other people's natural resources.
I believe that point is neither countered nor diluted by the existence of extremist activity in other parts of the globe. Extremism - on both sides of this "war on terror" - is what I oppose with vigour.
Extremism is carried out by nut-jobs; however, these nut-jobs become dangerous only when riding a groundswell of popular sentiment. America is now entering its seventh year of decisive victory in Afghanistan, and will soon enter its fifth year of liberating Iraq. You would have routed both insurgencies forthwith, had you even come close to enjoying the balance of popular support.
Thanks to American extremism, Islamic extremists now ride a groundswell of regional support. Many of the extremists on this site respond by deeming entire populations of peaceful Muslims worthy of mass extinction.
Once again, I ask: how has lobbing ordnance in the general direction of terrorists proving to be any smarter (or braver, for that matter) than scratching at poison ivy? |
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I'm disappointed you dindn't include his response in your very brief posting, MK. His was by far the best in scope and quality. |
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