I opened Google News this morning and the first headline was 'Bhutto Killed In Attack on Political Rally." I had one of those moments where I didn't exactly process what they were saying, and then I just couldn't believe it. She had just been in the headlines so much these past few months after her return to Pakistan, so many stories on NPR and the Times, that it was surreal to hear that someone had assasinated her. The suicide bomber opened fire on her and her party members before blowing himself up. They said she died of shrapnel wounds at the hospital.
I'm not sure what my opinion of her was before this happened. Obviously, she had some serious balls to go back to Pakistan after years of exile, and she claimed to be committed to bringing democracy back to the country while Musharraf seemed intent on keeping it out. When the stories ran about her return, everyone mentioned the threats against her life, and there was a bomb attack a little while ago that narrowly missed her and killed scores of onlookers, but somehow you it's easy to believe that these famous, powerful figures have some sort of innate protection surrounding them. But they don't. Bhutto was a controversial figure, but she was also that rare thing--a female, Muslim politician in a male-dominated Muslim culture. Now that she's dead, who will take her place?
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