“..Pakistan is not Myanmar, and Bhutto is no Aung San Suu Kyi, Bhutto’s Link to The ‘Oil For Food’ Scandal And Hillary

Was it Al Qaeda that killed Bhutto? Maybe their dislike for Bhutto wasn’t only about politics. In a region renowned for corruption, Benazir Bhutto may have been a better thief than she was a politician. Well known historian Arthur Herman referred to her as “One of the most incompetent leaders in the history of South Asia.”

From The Guardian:

…Bhutto’s regime is remembered for having one of the worst human rights records in Pakistan’s history, and her government did not allow the media freedoms she criticizes Musharraf for crushing.

…The controversy surrounding Bhutto’s financial affairs has been compounded by reports showing she and her family have worldwide assets worth about 90bn Pakistan rupees ($1.5bn). Despite voluminous evidence, some from the British government, the Bhuttos deny all the charges.

The authoritative Volker report into the oil-for-food scandal identified the company Petroline FZC as having received oil contracts worth £145m in return for paying illicit surcharges to Iraq of $2m.

…Pakistan’s national accountability bureau has produced documents which show that Bhutto was the company chairwoman…

Zardari denied, for eight years, that he was the owner despite instructing a builder with plans for a helipad, nine-hole golf course and polo pony paddock.

Crates of valuable artifacts were shipped from Karachi. In 2004, when creditors forced the property into a liquidation sale, the Pakistani government claimed the proceeds. Lawyers for Zardari then appeared, claiming he was the beneficial owner.

…Some of the profits went to firms in Spain, where another criminal investigation into money laundering is still active.

Naturally, Hillary Clinton is at the fore in the Benazir Bhutto beatification process.

Sweetness and Light notes candidate Clinton’s remarks:

“I am profoundly saddened and outraged by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a leader of tremendous political and personal courage. I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile. Mrs. Bhutto’s concern for her country, and her family, propelled her to risk her life on behalf of the Pakistani people. She returned to Pakistan to fight for democracy despite threats and previous attempts on her life and now she has made the ultimate sacrifice. Her death is a tragedy for her country and a terrible reminder of the work that remains to bring peace, stability, and hope to regions of the globe too often paralyzed by fear, hatred, and violence.

“Let us pray that her legacy will be a brighter, more hopeful future for the people she loved and the country she served. My family and I extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to the victims and their families and to the people of Pakistan.”

The author of the post goes on-

She just can’t help herself…

That’s it. An official luncheon and a little “private conversation” afterwards.

But it’s not quite the stuff of “I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile.”

Of course the Hillary camp has quickly rushed out a photograph of their (one and only) historic meeting…

Still, now that Ms. Bhutto is dead Hillary will have no one to contradict her self-serving fantasies.

Read the entire post here. It’s a keeper.

We wrote

One Kos blogger notes Bhutto’s record and the connection that Mark Penn, Hillary’s chief strategist and pollster has forged with the front running Democrat candidate…

As we all have read, Pervez Musharraf as imposed martial law in Pakistan. Pakistan is a country of the utmost strategic importance, and the right balance of cooperation and pressure must be used to ensure that it grows into a stable democracy. And, whoever is President will have to exercise clear-headed, sound judgment for the sake literally of the entire planet.

Therefore, it is deeply disturbing that Mark Penn’s lobbying and polling firms are taking fat monthly checks from Benazir Bhutto, a main rival of Musharraf.

…Let us be clear what is going on hear. The chief strategist for Hillary Clinton is also involved with efforts by a foreign political party to gain influence in Washington D.C. [emp- SC&A]

…Aside from the International Culture of Corruption this points to, this is disturbing in other ways:

How can Hillary Clinton claim to have clear, unbiased judgment on Pakistan when her chief strategist has a vested interest in seeing one party return to power there? Is she issuing statements because that is what she believes, or because her chief strategist is biased in that regard?

If Bhutto does return to power, will she not be seen as a puppet of Hillary Clinton in Pakistan and elsewhere?

US lobbying firms working on behalf of foreign governments trying to influence US policy is bad enough. But, this unseemly fusion between lobbyist/PR and political figure is incredibly damning. Is Benazir Bhutto effectively getting a 2-1 deal on her money? Mark Penn is available to the highest bidder–do we really want someone whose business it is to shill on behalf of loathsome figures and who is a conflict of interest with feet shaping the policy of our next nominee?

Apparently, Hillary had no problem with Pakistan’s Arafat. Why isn’t that surprising?