Gangstas' paradise?

Benazir Bhutto is assassinated and Al Qaeda, allegedly, has claimed responsibility.

Post 9/11, the world was asked, by George Bush, to take sides - either you were with America or against it. The Pakistan President, General Pervez Musharraf chose to fall in line, when faced with this tricky situation and ever since has claimed he is USA's ally in the "War on Terror". So this meant, he was fighting Osama bin Laden, who was (still probably is) supposedly hiding in the remote Pakistan-Afghanistan border area. This much is common knowledge.

But Benazir's assassination raises some interesting questions.
- Why did Al Qaeda (or other jihadi groups) target Benazir, who was last Prime Minister in 1996 and who was not an ally of the U.S., and not Musharraf, who should have been an obvious choice for the terrorists? Oh, of course, there have been "attempts" on his life in the last few years, but nothing that seems as well-planned and determined as those on Benazir's. Which is highly suspicious.

- The USA has been providing huge financial aid to Pakistan post 9/11. Is part of this money being diverted back to jihadi groups, by Musharraf and the ISI? Is this Musharraf's insurance policy against Al Qaeda and other jihadi groups? Which means the man could be playing a double game with the USA and the terrorist groups thereby ensuring that both need him at the helm of affairs.

- Most chillingly, is the George Bush government aware of all this goings-on and still chooses to look the other way? After all, wars make so much sense to the American arms companies, (and indeed, to the American economy) particularly to the stakeholders of the companies, many of whom are part of the George Bush government.
If the American government played a role in getting Benazir back to Pakistan and in Musharraf announcing elections, why did they wait so long and not do this a few years ago? From an American perspective, a friendly dictator in power in a third-world country is sometimes more convenient than a potentially-troublesome, democratically-elected head of state. Is easier to push through dirty business deals, which many American arms/oil companies are past-masters at.

In any case, looks like Pervez Musharraf has played his last card in this very dangerous game to ensure he survives. Nawaz Sharif has been sidelined by the courts, Benazir has been killed. Who else is there, but him that would be acceptable to all, may be his line of thinking. Guess time will tell who is going be in control of this troubled nation, which terrifyingly, is a nuclear state.

The neighbourhood just got more dangerous.

Happy New Year!