31 DEC 07 / "Bhutto Assassination"

When Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan several months ago, the volatile nation had cause to hope for a return to democracy. But that hope was shattered last week when at least two assassins succeeded in killing the former prime minister and approximately 20 other people.

A former prime minister, Bhutto had not yet regained political office in Pakistan, yet she held sway over the Pakistan Peoples Party and was favored to win in the parliamentary election scheduled for early January.

Speculation is rampant that al Qaeda or the Taliban were behind the assassination. Bhutto was killed because of her pro-western, moderate views. Bhutto reputedly had been considering the possibility of allowing American and British military forces to pursue terrorists in Pakistan's remote tribal regions along the Afghan border.

Like her father, Bhutto gave her life for the people of Pakistan. She had said that she didn't choose the life, the life chose her.  A brave woman who died for the cause of freedom, Bhutto's life is an inspiration. During her terms as prime minister, she had been accused of corruption, but the allegations were never proved true.

The fact that a plurality of voters in Pakistan would have supported her is the only consolation. The assassination does not augur well for the new year. The future of Pakistan, an Islamist country with nuclear weapons, is even more uncertain. Her death is not only a significant setback for peace and stability in Pakistan, it will adversely affect Afghanistan and India and have far reaching consequences both in the Middle East and around the world.

The assassination reminds American voters of the importance of the issue of national security in this presidential election.

We all must exit this world in some manner, and there is no way more honorable that to die serving the cause of freedom because it can be the only course for future generations. The world is fortunate to have brave people like Benazir Bhutto who are willing to die in the fight against the darkness of tyranny so that others may live in freedom and peace.