Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

Pakistan's first female Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated today in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by a suicide bomber who shot her several times before blowing himself up. At least twenty others were killed and several more were injured. She has just finished speaking at a rally in the run up to the January 8 parliamentary elections in which she opposed President General Pervez Musharraf.

Violent protests and demonstrations have become the order of the day all over Pakistan.

Musharraf blamed Islamic extremists for Bhutto's death and said he would redouble his efforts to fight them.

"This is the work of those terrorists with whom we are engaged in war," he said in a nationally televised speech. "I have been saying that the nation faces the greatest threats from these terrorists. ... We will not rest until we eliminate these terrorists and root them out." Source.

So much for democracy in Pakistan.

Updated: There are rumors of an al Qaeda claim of responsibility. Whoever killed her sure opened the door for Musharraf to stay in power. That is, if he isn't next on the list. What a mess.

Hot Air has video of the statement by President Bush.

We stand with the people of Pakistan in their struggle against the forces of terror and extremism. We urge them to honor Benazir Bhutto’s memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life.

The Australian reports that the U.S. is increasing its military presence in Pakistan, with SpecOps troops on the way. No surprise there, really, but where are we finding even more of these guys? It seems like the SpecOps community already has its hands full in Afghanistan and, to a lesser degree, Iraq.