The assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan on Wednesday is a tragic loss when free elections and talks with President Pervez Musharraf were so close. With her political measure weighing in with moderate Muslims in Pakistan for women's rights, Bhutto's was a strong voice much needed within a historically mysogynistic culture.
After escaping a previous assassination attempt and her recent political incarceration, a potential communication process with current powers and upcoming elections seemed to signal a positive, much needed change.
Heinous murders of leaders such as Benazir Bhutto must be avenged with the articulation of justice in the form of the punishment of those responsible.
As al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility, this surely will further fuel the fires of the United State's open-ended and nebulous "War on Terror." Geographically Pakistan is to the east of Iran, with its own controversial policies of nuclear activities and religious fundamentalism. Such a relationship, Pakistan's nuclear armory, and the continuing instability of the area by Islamic fundamentalist military factions could expand the front of the "War on Terror" on the premise of nuclear capable Islamic fundamentalist alliances, whether between regimes, terrorist factions, or both. Be aware of the Bush Administration's inevitable statements regarding any imaginable scenarios.
Some fires keep burning, they whip and consume, with designs that serve only to sustain entropy. But other fires burn, and they burn within the breasts of those that must persevere for good when all seems lost, when a guiding, vigilant fire is extinguished by madness and hatred. And these fires keep burning, flaring in the face of chaos with a light that bolsters these fires that come together, once diminished by loss, but gaining strength in union to light the way toward positive empowerment and essential justice.
