The inevitable question after any assassination is: who benefited from it? The answer in this case is Musharraf and the extremists. Bhutto was the enemy of both. Could they have worked together to eliminate her?
With her murder Musharraf has had his chief rival removed and he can resume his authoritarian rule with the Americans off his back: Washington has nowhere else to turn. He is the man. He has secured power--for the time being anyway. Musharraf has played America brilliantly. His intelligence service helped create and still has ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Indeed, Bhutto accused him of harboring extremists for just such an attack. Their claim of responsibility gives Musharraf deniability, since he is supposed to be fighting them.
Now Musharraf can clamp down on the human rights and democracy crowd, his real enemy, while running his phony war against extremists, all the while taking American military aid intended to fight terrorism and use it to upgrade his defenses against India. A very clever, but dastardly plan.
If Musharraf's claims are to be believed, then rogue elements of his intelligence service were involved in the killing and not Musharraf himself. But the effect is the same: he is not effectively fighting the terrorists and he benefits from their enmity with democracy and from American financial backing.
But Musharraf's game is dangerous. For the moment, the Taliban and al-Qaeda won't touch him, because he has their back, as it were. He is an uneasy ally for now, keeping the gullible Americans, or at least American public, believing he is actually fighting them.
Musharraf must fear that this game will last only until al-Qaeda and the Taliban feel strong enough to try to overthrow him and rule Pakistan with their allies in military intelligence. That day hopefully may never come. But in the meantime he is a very useful placeholder for them.
Read more reactions from HuffPost bloggers on Benazir Bhutto's assassination
Who benefits? If Bush-Cheney didn't benefit, there would be no Bhutto killing. Bush pushed her to return to Pakistan. That's "who".
...bets anyone of who really is benefitting?
They benefit, because they are getting rid of the US in the extended kingdom.
In reality mr Musharraf does not control Pakistani politics, people, territory, or even all of his security service. He is holding on for dear life to what influence he has left.
He has given up his military role and accepted mrs. Bhutto back in order to secure Western support for his leadership. This assassination makes him look helpless, or indifferent, and not the man to back. The ensuing disorder will only help the most radical Islamists, who will use the chaos to help their own agenda.
CUI BONO
Most of the population of that country were not privileged to enjoy the kind of education Ms. Bhutto did, nor were they in a position to see firsthand the true power of a democracy, as she mentioned her awe at the toppling of this country's corrupt administration in the 1970's. She was a messiah of sorts, delivering the promise of a free society to people who could only imagine such a thing, a Middle East Hans Christian Anderson. But it is in Pakistan, as it is in Iraq little more than a pipe dream.
Religious sectarianism is the root of this problem. The divides are great, and impenetrable. The Taliban's support is still strong, the suppression of woman widely accepted and nothing will change that until the indigenous population sees a need for change.
And just because we in America have become enlightened over the past few centuries, it doesn't mean all cultures develop at the same rate. Foisting democracy on cultures who can't comprehend its intrinsic value is kind of like giving an I phone to a polar bear. More than likely, they'll just eat it.
Dr. Rick Lippin
http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com
Benazir both , but believe you me this is the most illogical analysis I have read in the last 36 years of my life. WHo is getting the most benefit, you ask any Pakistani and they will tell you it is either those so called Islamic militants or US americans who are playing this dangeorous game in my part of world.