Goodbye, Benazir

Global Voices Online » The assassination of Benazir BhuttoThe assassination of Benazir Bhutto day before yesterday has the global blogworld talking.I haven't added my voice yet because I honestly don't know what to say. For now, then, I'll simply post links to some of the various coverage of the event; the above link is from Global Voices, which gives a good aggregate of some of the discussion.Some comments:

Taking the issue forward, some blogs are discussing the legacy of Benazir Bhutto, the future for Pakistan and the likely suspects who ordered the assassination, even as the Al Qaeda has claimed responsibility.Red Diary discusses why Bhutto was a target, and the resulting riots.

The strong possibility of the rise of a secularist Benazir into power made her a mortal threat for those in the State who harbored sympathy for Islamic Fundamentalists, with whom the notorious intelligence agencies, such as the ISI, were closely knitted since the Cold War and the Afghan War. Benazir Bhutto become a symbol of resistance against Islamic Extremists - both residing inside and outside the State. She stood secularism and modernity against militant retrogressive and conservative trends.

Global Voices, Why Bhutto, and What Now for Pakistan?

and

Some other perspectives have also emerged, looking at Bhutto both as a possible leader and a mover in international politics. Counter Terrorism Blog says

She was someone who the U.S. could actually work with to seek a way forward for Pakistan in light of the profound challenges posed by religious intolerance and political extremism, the drug trade, governmental institutions that do not provide essential services in many areas of the country, and Pakistan's troubled relationships with of its immediate neighbors -- Afghanistan, India, and Iran.Her faults were also profound, as the well-documented grand corruption cases brought against her and her husband attest. She did indeed treat her country like it was a family-owned business, with corrosive results. These includied her removal from power in 1990 and again in 1996 as the corruption both weakened her politically and played a significant role in her inability to deliver the reforms needed to make Pakistan's government responsive to the needs of its people

The Moderate Voice has a bio on Benazir Bhutto, including information on her father who was also the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and was sentenced to death in the 70s for charges similar to the ones Benazir faced much later.

Global Voices: Bhutto's Death and Impending Elections

I will, however be back. Events like these -- and, on a smaller scale, the murders and subsequent hue and cry closer to home -- make one think that chaos is vanquishing order around the world. But is it?