TODAY'S TOPIC:
Regrouping for
the New Year
by
Natalia J. Garland
Print Version
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Americans are not strangers to political assassinations and
assassination attempts. Some of our most important leaders were killed
in the performance of duty or service to our nation. This is a list
of presidential assassinations.
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- Abraham Lincoln - 1865
- James Garfield - 1881
- William McKinley - 1901
- John F. Kennedy - 1963
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In addition to the
'successful' assassinations, there were also failed attempts. This is
a list of the presidential assassination attempts.
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- Andrew Jackson - 1835
- Franklin D. Roosevelt (president-elect) - 1933
- Harry S. Truman - 1950
- Gerald Ford - 1975
- Ronald Reagan - 1981
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There were also two
political leaders who were assassinated only weeks apart. One was a
civil rights organizer and the other was a presidential candidate.
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- Martin Luther King, Jr. - April 1968
- Robert F. Kennedy - June 1968
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Among the many political
leaders who have been assassinated worldwide, probably none has
saddened Americans more than the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on
December 27, 2007. Her death motivated us to regroup our efforts to
defeat terrorism, especially as we evaluate our current presidential
candidates. Who can protect us at home? Who can form relationships
with our allies? Who is willing to risk his or her life? The Bhutto
assassination has reminded us that our next president must be able to
fulfill these responsibilities with extraordinary courage and
conviction.
Bhutto served as Prime
Minister of Pakistan for two different terms (1988-1990 and 1993-1996),
was accused of corruption (payoffs and money-laundering), spent some
time in exile and became the chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
Despite questions regarding her administrative competence, her
significance for Americans was that she was returning to Pakistan as a
candidate in that country's 2008 general election. Bhutto was
pro-democracy and anti-Islamofacisism. She was popular among the
people and her ideas posed a threat to the Taliban and to Al-Qaeda.
Bhutto was different
from us, and yet she was the same as us. She was a devout, moderate
Muslim. She felt it was her calling or destiny to return to Pakistan
and establish democracy. She was the first female Muslim leader. She
appreciated Western Civilization and was a friend to the modern world.
She had attended convent schools as a child, went on to study at
Harvard and at Oxford, and spoke English better than most Americans.
Perhaps it was her contact with Americans that prompted her to describe
herself as an optimist.
There had already been
an assassination attempt on Bhutto in October, 2007. Although she
survived, 140 civilians were killed. After the failure of that
attempt, she wrote an article for the Opinion Journal. These
are excerpts.
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Some in the Pakistani government criticized my return to Pakistan, and
my plan to visit the mausoleum of the tomb of the founder of my
country, Mohammed Ali Jinnah. But here was my dilemma. I had been in
exile for eight painful years. Pakistan is a country of mass,
grassroots, people-to-people politics. It is not California or New
York, where candidates can campaign through paid media and targeted
direct mail. That technology is not only logistically impossible, but
it is inconsistent with our political culture.
>><<>><<
The sanctity of the political process must not be allowed to be
destroyed by the terrorists. Democracy and moderation must be restored
to Pakistan, and the way to do that is through free and fair elections
establishing a legitimate government with a popular mandate--leaders
supported by the people. Intimidation by murdering cowards will not be
allowed to derail Pakistan's transition to democracy.
[End of quotes.]
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America has never again
been able to produce leaders comparable to Abraham Lincoln, John F.
Kennedy, or Martin Luther King, Jr. They were exceptional people whose
deaths left a permanent void in politics and history. The loss of
Bhutto will be deeply felt by Americans and Pakistanis: that is, any
potential for humanitarian victory is gone and there is nobody who can
replace her. Whatever the details regarding the allegations of past
corruption, the American government was hoping for Bhutto's help in the
future. If that hope had not been real, then the terrorists would not
have assassinated her. It was not a matter of our having total
approval of Bhutto, but a matter of seeking cooperation with America's
best prospect in a complicated and treacherous part of the world.
Pakistan is thought to
be home to terrorist leaders, training grounds, and hiding places
among the scattered tribal communities. Moreover, Pakistan has
nuclear weapons. Bhutto represented democracy, moderate Islam, a
blending of Pakistani culture with the good attributes of the West, and
the emancipation of women. We will never know if Bhutto was sincere or
if she was pursuing political ambition, or a conflicted combination of
two motives, because the "murdering cowards" eliminated the
mere possibility of positive change in Pakistan. This should serve as
proof that Pakistan is an extremely important country for terrorist
propagation.
As we enter the New
Year, let us analyze the current state of terrorism, evaluate our
enemies and allies, try to establish new allies among the imperfect but
viable prospects, mourn all our tragic losses, and regroup our efforts
to protect America and to renew a pro-democratic relationship with
Pakistan. The determining factors will be (1) the resolve of the next
American president and (2) the loyalties and stamina of the Pakistani
people. (Written 01/01/08: bibliography available.)
Until we meet
again....... .......stay sane.
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