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Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Assassinated; President Bush Condemns 'Cowardly' Attack
Aired December 27, 2007 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENAZIR BHUTTO, FMR. PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: I know the danger is out there, but I'm prepared to take those risks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A life cut short in a suicide attack. Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a number of her supporters killed at a campaign rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A national tragedy and day of national mourning for Pakistan. And we have lost one of our important, very important, and I would stress liberal, leaders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLEEN MCEDWARDS, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: A day of mourning. Pakistani officials appealing for calm as rioters around the country taking anger to the streets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: And a cowardly act. The U.S. joining a chorus of international condemnation of Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
It is noon in Washington, 10:00 p.m. in Islamabad.
Hello and welcome, everyone, to our report seen around the globe.
I'm Jim Clancy.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards.
Welcome to our continuing coverage of assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto right here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. CLANCY: She knew her political work was putting her life on the line but said it was worth that risk to give Pakistan's children, all of them, a better future.
MCEDWARDS: Just two months after returning from exile for what she hoped would be a political comeback, Pakistan's opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, an icon of democracy for many people in Pakistan, has been assassinated.
CLANCY: And already, we are getting reports from some cities, various cities across the country, of some rioting. Police urging people, stay at home. They are trying to keep the situation under control.
MCEDWARDS: And here is the latest developments for you.
A suicide attacked Bhutto just as she was leaving a political rally. This happened in Rawalpindi. She is dead, at least 22 others are killed as well. Police say Bhutto may have been shot before the bomb went off. Details skill sketchy.
CLANCY: Now, this is the very last videotape of Benazir Bhutto alive, waving, smiling, garlands of flowers around her neck. Leaving that political -- that campaign rally eight days ahead of the parliamentary vote. She headed Pakistan's largest political party, the Peoples Party. She was campaigning for elections that were supposed to take place in two weeks.
MCEDWARDS: Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf announced a three-day mourning period. He held an emergency meeting, came out and made that announcement. He blames her assassination on the same extremists who his government has been battling.
CLANCY: Now, some Bhutto supporters have erupted in anger at the news of her death. Tires burned in the streets and police have been attacked in several cities.
MCEDWARDS: Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif tried to comfort Bhutto's grieving supporters. He came to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. He told them -- and this is a quote -- "I assure you that I will fight your war from now on."
CLANCY: Like Bhutto, Sharif is also a former prime minister of Pakistan. He was her main rival in the upcoming elections. Now he says the entire nation is united in its grief.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAWAZ SHARIF, FMR. PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: (INAUDIBLE) something unthinkable -- some unthinkable (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: Nawaz Sharif calling it inconceivable, the saddest day. Difficult to hear him there. You get a sense of the absolute mayhem around him as he arrived at the hospital where Benazir Bhutto was pronounced dead.
Her political life was a controversial one, to say the least. Hugh Riminton has a look at that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Benazir Bhutto lived a life defined by politics, allegations, blood and murder. Born in 1953 to one of Pakistan's leading political families, Bhutto attended Oxford and Harvard universities. Her father was a charismatic prime minister in the 1970s, but he was seized in a military coup and later executed. She herself was imprisoned at that time for five years, some of it in solitary confinement, before finding sanctuary in London.
Benazir Bhutto had first resisted political life but returned to her homeland in 1986 to adoring crowds. In 1988, she became the Muslim world's first democratically-elected female prime minister. She was just 35.
Less than two years later, though, she was ousted. Her rule opposed by Islamic traditionalists and much of the military.
In 1993, she won election again, but accusations of poor governments and increasing corruption scandals, most notoriously involving the alleged transfer of money to Swiss bank accounts, saw her sacked again. And again she went into exile.
Her return in October 2007 to take part in a reported power- sharing deal with the strongman President Pervez Musharraf was emblematic of Bhutto's life. Weeping openly as she touched again Pakistan oil soil, the woman who was (INAUDIBLE) of democracy and modernity in Pakistan began a slow procession through hundreds of thousands of supporters in her power base of Karachi.
But there had been numerous threats against her life, and before the day was out, a suicide bomber blew herself up near her vehicle, killing well over 100 people. Benazir Bhutto escaped that time uninjured, but her enemies remained many, her days numbered.
Hugh Riminton, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: This is a day that found our former colleague, Walter Rodgers, who was a senior international correspondent for CNN, a senior correspondent for ABC News, on the line with us now from Lahore.
And Walter, you have been looking at the political process with some skepticism in Pakistan. How do you weigh the events today, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto?
WALTER RODGERS, FMR. CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, I think the first thing you can say is this paralyzes the political process. As you pointed out, there are elections which were scheduled for January 8th. I was with Pakistani friends this evening when the news broke, and they said, oh, they cannot possibly hold elections now.
That seems reasonable, if nothing else, from a practical point of view, because Benazir's party, the PPP -- that is, Pakistan Peoples Party -- doesn't have a candidate. And they were, if anything, the favored candidate. Not by much, and there was great debate, even as recently as today, as to who was going to win the prime ministerial elections in January.
But having said that, the process is now paralyzed, people are grieving, as you can I'm sure see on the streets of the place. Most of the friends I was with that night said we have got to get home, we have got to get off the road. Everyone in Pakistan I knew anticipated the demonstrations since then. We've got to be home where we're safe, and particularly the women said we've got to get home and get off the streets because there's going to be trouble -- Jim.
CLANCY: Walter, that gives us a great view, an inside look there, perhaps, at the fears over what happens next in Pakistan. You, yourself, have been looking at the government of general -- President Pervez Musharraf, and the need for the move towards democracy. How much pressure is on him now?
RODGERS: Well, fairly or unfairly, President Musharraf is getting blamed for the difficulties today, at least by the wrath of the mobs. When the people got angry and they took to the streets in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi, the first thing they did was start attacking -- tearing down the campaign posters of Musharraf's party, the PML Party, and they wanted those ripped up because the public was just lashing out wherever it could, and the most visible symbol was, of course, the government itself, President Musharraf.
Now, that is hardly fair in the sense that no one is suggesting Musharraf was behind the assassination. In fact, Mrs. Bhutto had many, many enemies here, not to mention the extreme Islamic clergy.
She threatened them. A speech she had made at that PPP rally in Rawalpindi, virtually the last words were out of her mouth before she was shot a few seconds later, shot and a suicide attack, her last words were, "We must curb the religious extremists. We must end the violence in this country. We must stop the terrorism." But she had made so many enemies by, if you will, saying that she was going to crack down on religious extremism, that somebody went after her, and we don't know who it is at this point -- Jim.
CLANCY: If it was militants who succeeded in killing her, succeeded -- they had threatened it many times, as you point out -- they will have something to celebrate. But who will emerge from this stronger? Is there any estimation there? Will it be the liberal forces? Will it be the military and President Musharraf, or will it be the opposition that is still in the streets and very much out of power?
RODGERS: Yes, but that opposition is not cohesive at this point. You've seen one of the opposition leaders, Mr. Sharif, Nawaz Sharif, saying he would take up the slack, that he would try to fill the gap. But he can't run for office. He's got legal battles here. So there really is no viable candidate at this point. Perhaps short term, the likely successor, the man who's likely to be elected, if and when they do have prime ministerial elections, is Mr. Musharraf's candidate, which is Pervez Alihi (ph).
Now, he is likely to be the one who will -- who's in the strongest position now, but nobody in the respected political establishment -- and that includes Musharraf -- is going to benefit from all of this. The only winners are the terrorists, the extremists, and so forth, and this casts a very dark cloud over the future of Pakistan because this is a country which really isn't so much one nation, as a confederation.
They speak 20-some languages here. There are 200 major principal tribes. This is a country which was facing creeping Talibanization and was sliding towards disintegration. And this might case in that process, and that's, of course, the darkest cloud on the horizon at this point -- Jim.
CLANCY: Cause for concern. The politics of Pakistan put into perspective there by Walt Rodgers, our colleague, a former senior CNN international correspondent.
Walter, as always, thank you very much -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Well, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States says his country has lost one of its most important liberal leaders, he said. Mahmud Ali Durrani says terrorists are trying to stop the Democratic process in Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMUD ALI DURRANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: I think the government of President Musharraf and the interim government which is there now, they all want to move to a democracy. And Musharraf has said that this is the third phase of moving into a democracy with a civilian president. He's taken off his uniform.
We were looking forward to the election, but while we were looking forward to the election, we also knew the dangers that are lurking, and that is the extremists and terrorists who do not want a liberal government in Pakistan, who do not want democracy in Pakistan. They will try and stop (ph) the process, obviously. So I think this is for the liberal elements and the democratic elements in Pakistan to get together, work together, and assure that democracy comes in spite of the opposition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Well, reaction to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto pouring in from across the globe. Britain is calling it a sad day for democracy.
We're going to have more on that in just a few minutes.
MCEDWARDS: Meantime, let's look at what neighboring India is saying. This is interesting.
A spokesman for President Manmohan Singh said this: "In her death the subcontinent has lost an outstanding leader who worked for democracy and reconciliation in her country."
CLANCY: The Russian Foreign Ministry also reacting. "We strongly condemn this terrorist act." They also stated the Pakistani government "... must do its best to ensure the maximum stability in the election period and prevent terrorist acts against Benazir Bhutto and other political leaders."
MCEDWARDS: The U.S. president reacted as well. George W. Bush strongly condemning what he called the cowardly assassination of Benazir Bhutto.
Ed Henry is at Mr. Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, with more on what he had to say.
Calling it cowardly and blaming extremists, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Some tough talk from President Bush, Colleen. And, in fact, CNN has learned he is later today planning to call Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf to get a handle on the situation on the ground in Pakistan, but also to reiterate that same message he did a short while ago to the public, all around the world here from his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
The president saying that the U.S. stands with the people of Pakistani. He also praised Benazir Bhutto, saying that she had struggled for a long time against the forces of terror, noted that she knew her life was in danger, but would not let the extremists dictate the future of Pakistan.
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BUSH: The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: And that's why President Bush will be calling President Musharraf. Obviously, trying to get a handle on the crisis, but also a lot of unanswered questions about who was behind this assassination. But also, clearly the U.S. wondering about the billions of dollars in aid that has been flowing to Pakistan.
Critics in recent weeks, recent days, have been raising questions, in fact, about whether much of that aid has been wasted and has actually not gone to battle the extremists from al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. So there will be a lot of questions in the days ahead -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Those are great questions. And also, another huge question both for the United States and the people of Pakistan as well. What about these elections that were supposed to be going ahead just days from now?
HENRY: That's right. And now President Bush, as you know, had been pressuring President Musharraf in recent weeks to lift the state of emergency. He did do that. And also had been pressuring to make sure elections go forward.
Obviously, that is a big question mark now, whether, in fact, the elections will move forward on January 9th. And privately, U.S. officials very concerned in the short term about this assassination sparking even more violence between now and January 8th. And in the long term, U.S. officials obviously also concerned about the potential for Pakistan's nuclear weapons getting in the hands of extremists -- Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Understood.
Ed Henry for us at the Bush ranch in Crawford.
Thanks very much, Ed. Appreciate it.
CLANCY: We are going to continue our nonstop coverage on Benazir Bhutto's assassination.
MCEDWARDS: We'll have more ahead and a closer look at what this may mean for the United States' closest ally in the war on terrorism. We're going to hear from a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan about what Washington has at stake here after her death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a great tragedy, because she stood for moderation, for rule of law, for democracy in our country. And her death is a loss for the cause of moderation, democracy and rule of law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Wherever you are watching in the world, welcome back to CNN International and YOUR WORLD TODAY.
MCEDWARDS: And a special welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States this hour.
We are continuing our coverage of the assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. This day initially envisioned as a day of support for opposition figures.
CLANCY: A rally by another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, ending in violence the death of some of his supporters in Islamabad.
MCEDWARDS: Now, despite this, Benazir Bhutto and her supporters went forward with their demonstration. Bhutto addressed thousands of people in Rawalpindi. The deadly blast came just shortly after that rally. CLANCY: Now, police say they suspect Bhutto may have been shot just before a suicide bomber on a motorbike blew himself up. They do not know whether wounds in her head and neck are from bullets, or they could have been from the shrapnel. Obviously, we are awaiting a full investigation in order to learn the details of that. At least 22 of her supporters were also killed, dozens more wounded.
MCEDWARDS: The state is bracing for angry demonstrations because of all of this. And we do already have reports of violence in some cities.
CLANCY: Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, taking to the airwaves after holding some emergency talks with his top officials. He went before the nation and declared a three-day mourning period in honor of Benazir Bhutto.
Bhutto's assassination raises many questions both in the short term and in the long term. What effect is it going to have on upcoming elections? Some say they can't envision them being able to be held.
What effect will it have on Pakistan's political future? That's inevitable.
But more immediately, many people are voicing opinions on who may have caused her death. We spoke a little bit earlier with Wajid Hasan, one of Bhutto's spokesman in London.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAJID HASAN, BHUTTO SPOKESMAN: She had been receiving death threats and she had warned the government and she had (INAUDIBLE) the government herself, as she had written letters to General Musharraf to find the persons who (INAUDIBLE) government and who would be responsible for her death if any suicide attempts were made on her. She said that -- in those letters she had mentioned that those officials (INAUDIBLE) in Musharraf's government would either have her killed by the proxies and the militants who they had been in collusion with since ages (ph), or they would have her killed by themselves, by their own people.
CLANCY: Wajid Hasan -- Wajid Hasan, I know that there are so many theories out there. There's so many people that, it could be said, would gain from the death of Benazir Bhutto. But isn't it a little too early? Isn't there a little -- too little evidence of any of this to be speculating, to be pointing fingers at this hour?
HASAN: Well, as you know, when you have a situation where (INAUDIBLE) in power as such where there's no rule of law or anything happening in the country that could be called civilized -- you know, bombings are taking place every day -- what can you do in that situation? Because everybody could be a killer there, because, you know, there are hired killers, there are killers, you know, in the government. There are killers in the administration. And those killers, you know, they are all running around the country, running around the country and killing people, innocent people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
MCEDWARDS: Well, in the United States, President Bush is urging President Musharraf to condition the democratic reforms in this country as a way to honor Bhutto's memory.
Wendy Chamberlin is a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan and is currently president of the Middle East Institute. And she joins us now from Washington with more.
Ambassador Chamberlin, thanks a lot for talking to us.
WENDY CHAMBERLIN, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO PAKISTAN: Thank you.
Let's start by talking about these elections. I mean, I'm curious about your opinion on this. Should they go ahead?
CHAMBERLIN: Well, I think that's really -- as I understand it, the Musharraf government is currently in a meeting to determine that. I hope when they make the decision as to whether to go ahead or not with the election, that they include the leaders of the parties as well, that this ought to be a collective decision.
It's hard for me to think that the elections could be conducted now in a way that isn't violent. It's already been pretty much spoiled. But that's really -- really for the Pakistanis to decide, and I hope all of the parties will be a part of that decision.
MCEDWARDS: How concerned are you, though, looking at, you know, the state of the opposition now? I mean, you have one of the most popular opposition parties without a leader, without a figurehead. I mean, who can step in? Because sometimes in Pakistani politics, with all the corruption and all the issues, the choices sort of go from bad to worse pretty quickly.
CHAMBERLIN: Well, they do. Benazir Bhutto was a figure that loomed very large. And let me -- let me just say how -- how -- to offer my own personal words of remorse to her family and how she considered herself a mother above all else. And to her family and to those other citizens of Pakistan that were killed in both events today.
But she had declared herself and had for many years been the leader of the Peoples -- Pakistani Peoples Party in perpetuity. So, there really hadn't been a development of the leadership at the top levels of the PPP. Really, what happens to the PPP is a question as well.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, lots of questions.
Ambassador Chamberlin, this one as well. In your view, what should the U.S. do now?
CHAMBERLIN: The United States ought to be very clear and emphatic. Condi Rice has said it before, she ought to say it again. President Bush ought to say that our relationship is with the Pakistani people.
It's not with one man, it's not with one party, it's not with a particular institution. It's with the Pakistani people, and that our interests coincide with the interests of the Pakistani people, which is for stability.
We had hoped -- the United States had hoped that there would be a transfer of a credible government to a civilian democracy, a civilian government in an election that was held peacefully. The events of today really show that that maybe impossible. It's already turned violent. But stability is what -- where our interests are, and it's where the Pakistani people's interests lie.
MCEDWARDS: But, you know, why has it been so hard to get? When you look at this past year in Pakistan, some 40 attacks killing more than 700 people, I mean, they are all men of extremists and extremist groups who, you know, felt just fine being right out there saying we are after Benazir Bhutto's head.
I mean, at some point, don't you wonder -- you know, there has been such a failure in attacking extremists, attacking terrorists in this country. What's the reason?
CHAMBERLIN: Well, I've said before to this -- to your audience that I believe that the biggest threat to Pakistan today is this creeping extremism. But I also believe that the biggest challenge now to Musharraf, or to any successor government, is to reestablish the rule of law of -- as the prevalent aspect of the government, so that it not be led by extremism and violence.
MCEDWARDS: Wendy Chamberlin, we've got to leave it there.
Former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan.
I really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks so much.
CHAMBERLIN: Thank you, Colleen.
MCEDWARDS: Grief and mourning are engulfing Pakistan at this hour after the death of its two-time former prime minister.
MCEDWARDS: Still ahead here on YOUR WORLD TODAY, Benazir Bhutto was well aware of the dangers that she faced when she returned to her homeland. Only a few weeks ago she talked about that and more in a discussion with CNN.
We'll show you that interview just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: The death of Pakistan's former prime minister, and perhaps a woman on the verge of becoming a -- for the third time, the prime minister of that country. Welcome back to our non-stop coverage here on YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'm Jim Clancy.
MCEDWARDS: And I'm Colleen McEdwards. This is the top story that we are following, of course.
Pakistani opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto dead at the age of 54. She was killed during a suicide attack at a political rally in Rawalpindi. Authorities say she was likely shot just before the explosion. We don't have confirmation of that, though. Certainly an investigation may reveal more details on exactly what killed her. At least 22 other people also died, though, in that blast.
CLANCY: There are reports of riots breaking out across Pakistan in the wake of Bhutto's assassination. Her supporters taking to the streets in several cities, burning tires, attacking police. President Pervez Musharraf is calling for calm and has declared three days of official mourning in Bhutto's honor.
MCEDWARDS: There is a lot of reaction to the assassination coming in from all around the globe. The U.S. president called the killing "a cowardly act" and the British prime minister, Gordon Brown, says terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan.
CLANCY: All right. We are hearing also from Pervez Musharraf, the leader of Pakistan. A man that some of Benazir Bhutto's supporters are pointing a finger at, saying that he did not provide her with adequate security in face of all of the risks that were so well known. But this is what the president had to say a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT, (through translator): In her honor, I declare a three-day mourning period. Our flag will be on half mast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: All right. Now when Benazir Bhutto returned to her homeland, and that was October 16th, she knew that she was putting her life in danger. Shortly before she went back to Pakistan, the former prime minister talked with our own colleague, Wolf Blitzer, about the dangers she faced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN: You're a relatively young woman. How scared are you, though, because, as you know, Osama bin Laden and other terrorists, they've attacked you in the past and they clearly would like to go after you now.
BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: Yes, of course they would like to go against me. There's a lot of threats because under military dictatorship an anarchy (ph) situation has developed which the terrorists and Osama have exploited. They don't want democracy. They don't want me back.
BLITZER: They don't want a woman to be the prime minister of Pakistan either. BHUTTO: And they don't believe in women governing nations. So they will try to plot against me. But these are risks that must be taken. I'm prepared to take them.
BLITZER: You know, your family history, unfortunately a tragic history of assassination.
BHUTTO: I know the past has been tragic, but I'm an optimist by nature. I put my faith in the people of Pakistan. I put my faith in God. I see that what I am doing is for a good cause, for a right cause to save Pakistan from extremists and militants and to build regional security. I know the dangers are there, but I'm prepared to take those risks.
BLITZER: Your father was killed at a political assassination.
BHUTTO: My father was killed. It was a very terrible moment in my life. But I also learned from him that one has to stand up for the principles they believe in. And I'm standing up for the principle of democracy. I'm standing up for moderation. And I'm standing up for hope for all the people in Pakistan who today are poor and miserable and really quite desperate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: To some, Bhutto's assassination comes as little surprise. Her return to Pakistan in October was accompanied with all of the risks, all of the warnings. Ralitsa Vassileva joins us now with some insight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the writing was on the wall soon after she set foot on Pakistani soil back in October. Her homecoming convoy was hit by two suicide bombs. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan history. Tens of thousands that pack the streets of Karachi to welcome her. More than 120 were killed. Bhutto blamed Islamic extremists.
BHUTTO: Yes, of course, they would like to go against me. There's a lot of threats because under military dictatorship, an anarchic situation has developed which the terrorists and Osama have exploited. They don't want democracy. They don't want me back. And they don't believe in women governing nations. So they will try to plot against me. But these are risks that must be taken. I'm prepared to take them.
VASSILEVA: The government warned she had been threatened by al Qaeda and by the Taliban. But Bhutto refused to use a bullet proof glass cubical during that October rally. She later said she found it very suspicious that night that the street lights went off right before the bombings. She emerged shaken but unhurt and vowed not to bow to extremism, promising to continue her fight to restore democracy. And her Pakistan people's party was the front-runner in January parliamentary elections. December polls gave her 30 percent of the vote, ahead of party of another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, with 25 percent, while President Pervez Musharraf's party came in third in that poll with 23 percent of the vote. The mother of three children said she knew the risks but felt it was her duty to act.
BHUTTO: I'm taking the risks with my life and I'm taking the risk and facing the dangers in my country because I believe that all the children of Pakistan are as dear to me as my own children. I want to see the children of Pakistan be (INAUDIBLE) a better future than the children of my generation will.
VASSILEVA: Bhutto has spent the last eight years in exile. But this year she made a deal with President Musharraf. He dropped corruption charges against her, allowing her to return to contest January elections. Bhutto had strongly denied allegations that she and her husband had illegally taken $1.5 billion from the state. In a controversial move, she agreed to work with Musharraf as president, but distanced herself from him after he suspended the constitution and declared emergency rule in November.
Tragedy is not new to the Bhutto political dynasty. It has numerous enemies. A former military regime executed her father in the 1970s. Her brother was killed in a shootout with police. And Islamic hardliners opposed her candidacy as a woman. Yet to many, she was a voice for democracy and a beacon of hope for Pakistan. A voice that's now been silenced, leaving many wondering what's ahead for a troubled Pakistan.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: All right. We continue to follow this story. Our thanks to Ralitsa there for a little bit of insight.
We're still getting reports now of violence across Pakistan. Police there, according to wire reports, saying four people have been killed. Two of them in Lahore. Two others in other locations. A very concerning, very dangerous moment for Pakistan.
MCEDWARDS: That's right. And we understand that members of her family are on the way to the country as well. And right now the White House briefing is getting underway. We want to bring that to you. It's going to be from Crawford, Texas. I think Scott Stanzel is the designated spokesperson of the week on this holiday week. We've got problems with our signal, I'm just told. So stay with us here just for a minute, because we're going to get to it just as soon as we can.
CLANCY: Let's try it. Let's give it a -- here we are.
MCEDWARDS: There we go. Yes.
SCOTT STANZEL, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMAN: With Benazir Bhutto's husband to offer our condolences, but don't have anything for you beyond that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Secretary Rice (INAUDIBLE). STANZEL: It's too early to tell. We'll see what those arrangements are and we can provide information as it comes in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott, did the White House support the possible postponing of elections in Pakistan (INAUDIBLE)?
STANZEL: Well, I think that is up to the Pakistanis. You know, free and fair elections are an integral part of the democratic society. And we're in the opening hours of this tragedy. And this assassination. But that is up to the people of Pakistan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), can you comment a bit about the implications for U.S. policy in Pakistan because of what's happened today? I mean, as the White House sees it, given the declaration of emergency rule and then what's happened, this assassination, is democracy failing?
STANZEL: Well, I think it's important to take a step back and consider what we're facing here. This is the nature of the enemy we face. We face terrorists who will stop at nothing. They will take innocent life to stop the march of democracy. And we have seen that in other places around the world. Suicide bombers who kill wantonly. And the president decided to take the fight to the enemy in 2001 to confront this type of danger because terrorist thugs want to stop the march of democracy. They want to stop the advancement of liberty. And they will stop at nothing to do so. So it is a reminder of the threat that we face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).
STANZEL: That would be up to the Pakistani officials to investigate. Let's be clear, whoever perpetuated this violence was someone who was an enemy of democracy. But it's too early at this point to say that, from our perspective, understand there are various -- there may be claims of responsibility out there. But I'm sure the Pakistani authorities will be looking into the matter.
Steven (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scott, how confident are you that there will be a thorough investigation, given that there (INAUDIBLE) were made after the bombing when she first returned and there's been no progress that we know of in finding out who carried out that attack.
STANZEL: I think, from our perspective, it's important to have a review of this and to look into the matter. And I think it's important to the long-term prospects of democracy in Pakistan, that there be an open review of this matter. So -- and I think that that is something that is necessary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the United States is prepared to assist (INAUDIBLE).
STANZEL: Well, you know, again, we're in the opening hours of this tragedy. And the president looks forward to his conversation with President Musharraf today. Obviously we're in contact with Pakistani officials.
Pakistan has been an ally in the war on terror. President Musharraf himself has faced numerous assassination attempts. Numerous attempts on his life. So he is familiar with the threat from extremists. And we're in the early hours of this matter, but certainly Pakistan had been a close ally in the war on terror and we look forward to those further conversations.
Yes, Savannah (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does the administration trust the Pakistani government to investigate properly whether the government itself or any (INAUDIBLE) were involved in the attacks?
STANZEL: Well, that's sort of the answer that I provided to Steven. I think it's important to have a thorough investigation of that. We expect that that will happen. And, like I said to Steven, I think we're willing to work with our allies in Pakistan to make sure that does happen.
Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does President Bush plan to offer any guidance to President Musharraf's party (INAUDIBLE).
STANZEL: Well, the conversation hasn't happened yet. So the president does look forward to his conversation with President Musharraf. But, you know, we would urge calm. And there is a risk of, after an assassination like this of a political leader, there's a risk of people turning to violence to express their anger. And we would urge calm and hope that all the Pakistanis would mourn her death, celebrate her life and unite together in opposition to the types of extremists that are trying to stop the march of democracy.
Ed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you were saying before, that Musharraf is an ally in the war on terror, are you concerned that when (INAUDIBLE) reported a few days ago (INAUDIBLE) to Pakistan being wasted and has not gone to fight (INAUDIBLE). Any concern at all that he's not fully on board and pushing the limits (ph)?
STANZEL: Well, I think it's important to remember that Pakistan -- the Pakistan military has lost hundreds of soldiers in the fight against extremism. They have lost life in their fight against these types of terrorists. Certainly when it comes to aid that is provided, we also want to make sure it's used for the purposes for which it was provided. And those are ongoing reviews that we always have with all countries around the world. But I think that there is -- what is clear is there are extremist elements in Pakistan and other places around the world who do want to stop democracy and will take measures like killing innocent people at a democratic rally to try to stop that advancement.
Ron.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the president think that President Musharraf did his utmost to protect Benazir Bhutto and . . .
CLANCY: All right. We've been watching there -- we apologize, obviously, losing that feed or having some problem was that feed there coming out of Crawford, Texas. Scott Stanzel, the spokesman for the White House. Very briefly saying, look, people, it's the early hours yet. We don't have definitive answers here, number one. We hope that the investigation conducted by the Pakistanis will be transparent on the elections. This is up to the forces of democracy within Pakistan on who was behind it. Who committed the killing? And these are some of the final videotaped -- final moments of the life of Benazir Bhutto. The White House spokesman there just saying we know for sure it was an enemy of democracy.
MCEDWARDS: And, you know, that question of who did it is something we're going to explore a little bit in more detail in just a few moments because there is a long list of people who took issue with Benazir Bhutto. And we're going to have CNN national security analyst and a former acting director of the CIA joining us in just a moment. We'll go through some of this, see what he thinks.
CLANCY: Stay with CNN.
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MCEDWARDS: Welcome back to YOUR WORLD TODAY.
There is violence in cities across Pakistan to report because of the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The former prime minister died in a hospital in Rawalpindi just after a rally in the city that authorities suspect she was shot in. They think she was shot just before a suicide bomber blew up, but there are still very sketchy details and a lot of speculations around what happened. At least 22 supporters killed in that blast. Dozens of people injured. President Pervez Musharraf has declared three days of mourning in Bhutto's honor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTANI PRESIDENT, (through translator): This is the work of the insurgents who we are fighting a war against. I have always said that we have a great threat from these insurgents and today I make a commitment and ask the people to back me in ending this insurgency from its very roots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: This is going to have a political implications throughout the region there on this subcontinent. People, of course, in Afghanistan watching very closely. One of the people we have heard from has been President Hamid Karzai. European nations, too, concerned because of their commitment of forces inside Afghanistan. The British prime minister weighing in. Our senior European political editor, Robin Oakley, joins us now live from 10 Downing Street to talk a little bit more about the reaction across Europe.
Robin. ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Jim.
Well, certainly European leaders have been piling in with their criticism of what many of them are calling a cowardly and terrible act. President Nicholas Sarkozy of France called it an odious act. The Vatican condemned it. A Russian deputy prime minister said this could unleash a wave of terrorism. Here in Britain, the foreign secretary, David Miliband, said that Benazir Bhutto was a woman of courage who had known the risks she faced in returning to her country, but she had believed that her country needed her. And Gordon Brown, the prime minister, here in Downing Street too, has expressed his belief in the courage of Benazir Bhutto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: This is a sad day for democracy. It's a tragic hour for Pakistan. My condolences go to the -- all of the Bhutto family, including her children and all that have lost their lives today. Benazir Bhutto was a woman of immense personal courage and bravery. Knowing as she did the threats to her life, the previous attempts to assassination, she risked everything in her attempt to win democracy in Pakistan and she has been assassinated by cowards afraid of democracy.
Benazir Bhutto may have been killed by terrorists, but the terrorists must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan. And this atrocity strengthens a resolve that terrorists will not win there, here or anywhere in the world. And we will work with all in the Pakistani community in Britain and elsewhere in the world so that we can have a peaceful and safe and democratic Pakistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OAKLEY: Many other leaders saying, Jim, that this must not be allowed to kill democracy in Pakistan. But, obviously, a huge amount of worry across Europe's capitals.
CLANCY: Robin, as the leaders' weigh in from around Europe, we heard their comments. But journalists too. You talked to her recently. Any personal insights here?
OAKLEY: Well, indeed, I interviewed Benazir Bhutto first in the 1990s, when the British prime minister traveling through Pakistan. Again, I spoke to her just before she returned to Pakistan recently. And, again, I was struck by the extraordinary charisma that she had as a politician. This sense of resolution. She was one of those politicians you felt who had been touched on the shoulder by history, who felt they had a real sense of mission.
Certainly, at the same time, one had to recognize that she was a risk taker. She took a risk entering politics in the first place in a country full of Muslim fundamentalists. She took a risk in going back to Pakistan. She took a risk in possibly doing some kind of deal with President Musharraf and upsetting her own followers. But she was a risk taker driven by a sense of mission, Jim, and that always came across. CLANCY: Robin Oakley live at 10 Downing Street in London. Robin, as always, thank you.
MCEDWARDS: Well, of course, the task begins now of trying to uncover who did this and why they did it. For some analysis on this, let's turn to John McLaughlin. He's a CNN national security analyst and a former acting director of the CIA.
John, thanks a lot for joining us. You know, it's a long list of people who had an interest in getting Benazir Bhutto out of the way. Just give us sort of your analysis on maybe the top one or two.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think when all is said and done, Colleen, we're going to find that this was done by al Qaeda or an affiliate of al Qaeda. The prospect of a woman like Benazir Bhutto, who was probably the most secular of Pakistan's leading politicians, coming to power was extraordinary offensive to them. And they've had her in their gun sights for years. So I think that's what we're going to find.
And that this will have resulted from the fact that al Qaeda has established, in the federally administered tribal areas over the last year and a half, a fairly secure area. A safe haven from which to operate. And they've now managed to penetrate -- this is not the first case -- penetrate more deeply into Pakistan's urban areas. I think that's what's going on here.
MCEDWARDS: You know, John, you wonder if we ever will find out, if the world ever will find out who's behind this. There was no investigation into the huge blast that went off at a huge rally when Benazir Bhutto came back into the country. I mean, can we expect that there ever really will be an investigation here?
MCLAUGHLIN: I think there will be an investigation. Whether there is some publicly announced result that we have confidence in, is dubious, I think. In intelligent sources, though, we will probably get some clues about who did this, if not establish conclusively who did it.
MCEDWARDS: But, you know, let's just say it turns out to be, you know, that there's some suggestion that there's elements of the government itself involved here or fringe elements of the military, we're never going to hear that.
MCLAUGHLIN: No, you'll not going to hear that. And I would be -- frankly, I would be skeptical of that theory at this point. I know it's possible but, you know, in Pakistan, conspiracy theories abound. It's inevitable that that will be out there. But in a way it's too easy an answer.
I think we need, as a matter of policy, to assume that al Qaeda has managed to penetrate into these urban areas. This is, of course, the second attack in Rawalpindi. There was an attack about a mile from Musharraf's home a couple of months ago. There was, of course, the attacks in Karachi. There have been attacks on special forces, installations in Pakistan, and attacks on Pakistani air force installations. So, in a way, the government itself has been attacked by the -- I think the very same people. So to turn that around and say somehow the government is attacking Bhutto doesn't make sense to me.
MCEDWARDS: Yes, understood.
John McLaughlin, I think we better leave it there. We're just about out of time. But thanks a lot for your comments and your thoughts on this. Really appreciate it.
MCLAUGHLIN: You bet.
CLANCY: And, you know what, you listen to him there. He is very certain that when all is said and done, this may be traced back to al Qaeda or one of its splinter groups.
MCEDWARDS: But, you know, it raises the question too, and I didn't have time to ask him this, but, you know, how can the people who promote democracy in Pakistan ever do it. With a life like this snuffed out, with impact on al Qaeda, as John just described it there, I think people really are going to spend a lot of time wondering, you know, despairing really for the future.
CLANCY: Right now, tonight, this very hour, people worried what happens in the coming hours. They are dealing with their emotions. They are dealing with their griefs. Our coverage of the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto continues after a short break.
MCEDWARDS: I'm Colleen McEdwards. You are watching CNN.
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