Richardson Urges Independent Investigation into Bhutto Assassination

(Press release 12/31/07)
Richardson Urges Independent Investigation into Bhutto Assassination
Says Musharraf has lost all credibility
PERRY, IA-- New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson today reacted to revelations that a Pakistani police chief apparently blocked an autopsy on Benazir Bhutto and to a new video raising doubts about the official Pakistani explanation of her death. Governor Richardson has served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and has extensive diplomatic experience around the world, including in Pakistan and Southern Asia. Below is his statement:

"These reports raise even more questions about Musharraf's credibility. The way forward in Pakistan will require two steps: conducting an independent international investigation into the events surrounding Bhutto's assassination and having Musharraf step down and allow for free and fair elections. I stand with the Pakistan Peoples Party in its call for such an investigation.

"I am extremely disappointed both in President Bush and my fellow Presidential candidates who continue to back the failed dictator Musharraf. The Washington insiders have it tragically wrong. The longer that we back Musharraf, the more likely it is that the world will pay a horrible price. Every day that America is associated with his anti-democratic policies, the greater the likelihood that Pakistan will go the way of Iran.

"The choice between security and democracy is a false one.

"Stability in Pakistan will be achieved only via free and fair elections, and those cannot occur while Musharraf runs the nation. Those who cannot see that reality, those who choose a false and hollow security over human rights, and those who prefer short-term ease at the cost of long-term disaster plainly have not learned the lessons of history.

"Where is the leadership?"
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0427

:kick:

BILL RICHARDSON

Musharraf must go

By Bill Richardson
January 3, 2008

PRESIDENT PERVEZ MUSHARRAF of Pakistan must go.
Rather than waging the "unstinted" war against Al Qaeda
that he promised, he has become a source of instability
that terrorists are exploiting. Pakistan urgently needs
a new government, and the United States should suspend
all nonterrorism-related military aid until Musharraf
steps aside.

Some in Washington say we should stick with the dictator,
because they fear chaos might follow his departure. But
the risk of chaos is far greater if Musharraf remains.
Only a new government, with broader support than
Musharraf has, can restore order to Pakistan and
reengage an effective fight against Al Qaeda and the
Taliban.

Last week's murder of Benazir Bhutto and the rioting that
spread across the country, show that Musharraf cannot
maintain order. He could not provide security for Bhutto,
and he cannot provide security for Pakistan. His already
meager support is plummeting further. Under Musharraf's
rule, Al Qaeda has reconstituted itself with a Pakistani
face. The editor of one of Pakistan's largest newspapers
recently said that "Al Qaeda is now as much a Pakistani
phenomenon as it is an Arab or foreign element." The Bush
administration has given Musharraf over $10 billion in
military aid - but the Al Qaeda terrorists who attacked
us on Sept. 11, 2001, are now headquartered in Pakistan
and are stronger than ever.

Ironically, it is because of Musharraf's failure against
Islamism that some say we now must support him. They
claim, unconvincingly, that if it were not for Musharraf,
radical Islamists might win elections. This is nonsense:
Islamist parties have never gotten more than 12 percent
of the vote, and recent polls suggest that their current
support is even lower. If elections are held soon, polls
show that the majority of Pakistanis will vote for the
mainstream democratic parties.
rest at link:
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/01/03/musharraf_must_go/

he can see things a lot better than many others, and I agree this should go forward.