Thursday, December 27, 2007
Mark Kirk Reacts to Assassination of Benazhir Bhutto UPDATED x2
WGN News has a report up on Mark Kirk's reaction to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazhir Bhutto. Read about it here.
Sadly, the spinmeisters have already wasted no time in trying to capitalize on this tragedy for political purposes. Read here about Obama strategist David Axelrod's comments trying to tie Senator Hillary Clinton's vote in favor of the war in Iraq on today's events in Pakistan.
Updated 8:45 p.m.: Earlier this evening on WGN radio, Mark Kirk was interviewed by radio personality Dean Richards for Kirk's analysis of the assassination and its implications for U.S. foreign policy, as well as its potential effect on the upcoming primary elections. Kirk lauded Prime Minister Bhutto as "one of the most accomplished women in the world," and one who was likely to have won the upcoming elections in Pakistan. Kirk attributed the murder to Islamic radicals, perhaps the same group that was responsible for the last Bhutto assassination attempt on October 18th.
Kirk noted the importance of Pakistan to world stability, not only due to its possession of a nuclear arsenal, but also in the day-to-day fight against terrorism, for example, as the main supply conduit for NATO forces in Afghanistan. He also noted that Pakistan has been a staunch ally in the war on terror, ever since Colin Powell informed Pakistan that they were either with us or against us. They wisely chose to be with us, but it has been a shaky alliance, mainly due to the large numbers of people within the country who would like to disrupt Pakistan's close relationship with the United States. Kirk suggested that the U.S.'s most important role at this point was to provide a "calm and steady diplomatic influence" in the region, assist with the investigation of the crime, and otherwise seek to provide guidance and support as that country comes to grips with this enormous tragedy.
Kirk predicted that it will take time for Bhutto's supporters to coalesce behind a new leader, and the elections might well have to be postponed. Finally, Kirk noted that in times of international and national crisis, people tend to embrace leadership and experience, rather than change, and he predicted that this event would likely result in increased support for Hillary Clinton and John McCain, who are largely regarded as the most experienced foreign policy gurus among the candidates on both sides.
TA is working on obtaining a sound file of the interview, as I think that it's something everyone should hear. After listening to Mark Kirk talk about the complex issues inherent in this tragedy, and the aplomb with which he was able to answer the detailed questions about what happened today, and what the likely aftershocks might be, I cannot believe that anyone who listens to Kirk for five minutes, and then listens to his would-be challengers, can come away with anything but a strong conviction that we need to return Mark Kirk to Washington for another term.
UPDATED x2 12/28/07 7:00 a.m.: Frequent commentor "I am Spartacus" pointed out a Waukegan News-Sun article in this morning's edition that has further reaction from Mark Kirk. Good thing he (she?) pointed it out, as it was buried on page 10 and I might have missed it. It's certainly not Sparty's fault, but aside from a few Mark Kirk quotes, it's not a very pithy article, and if you are looking for actual analysis of the situation and the potential effect on the U.S., you'd be better off looking here and here. The News-Sun has a bit of way to go if it wants to be a primary news source for Lake County readers, at least on the national level.
On the other hand, maybe the News-Sun just knows its readership, and should be given some credit for trying to dumb this down (see the "Five Reasons Why You Should Care" sidebar in the article) so people understand the relevance of this major event, at least tangentially, on their way to looking up the Lotto numbers.
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8 comments:
Kirk is an expert here. Underscores why its better to have him rather and an unemployed guy like Seals.
I just the new Jay Footlik call -- he does not like Seals...
Shari- I heard about the call and I'm working on getting a transcript to post.
I never seem to get these kind of calls, but I'm trying not to take it personally.
TA,
There are so many questions here, it's almost impossible to blame anyone for this tragedy.
Was it a radical Islamic cell? Maybe. The precision of the assassination bears almost no hallmark of al Qaeda -- but let's not forget that there are dozens of radical Muslim groups, especially in the Tribal Area, which were boycotting the election and opposed Bhutto's candidacy.
Was it Musharraf? Maybe. It seemed impossible that he could get along with Bhutto as prime minister -- she was more popular than he and since he gave up his military hat, he lacks the critical lever of power in the country. The only way to maintain influence is with Bhutto. It's also rather strange that the Pakistani authorities hosed down the site with water (on CNN) -- that is the primary way to get rid of all physical evidence at the scene of a crime.
Here's what we do know. Pakistan is extremely complex. Pakistan has nuclear weapons. And Barack Obama said he'd be fine launching an invasion into that country.
In a time of crisis, the American people look to experienced leadership -- they want to see someone get on television like John McCain did today and talk about how this is complex and how we will persevere. They don't want to hear an oversimplistic blame game like the one Axelrod provided today.
I predict this event puts Hillary over the top in Iowa -- and gives McCain the 3rd place finish he needs to win New Hampshire.
Sparty
Sparty, I think that's good analysis but I liked Kirk's perspective a little better on WGN. He talked more about how Bhutto represented middle class domestic priorities (something we wouldn't care about normally, hence not covered by CNN or FOX) and that the middle class is a threat to the Islamists -- a threat embodied by Bhutto herself.
Here's the bottom line. The U.S. Congress is not amateur hour. Our members of Congress are asked to make decisions on military and economic assistance -- the slightest move can destabilize a country and bring about violent death.
TA, thanks for posting on the WGN interview. You are spot on. Seals and Footlik are ignoramuses when it comes to this stuff. Kirk lives it on a daily basis.
If I have heart problems, I want the best darn cardiac physician in the world to treat me. If that person was already my doctor and two interns came along offering to treat me instead, I'd tell them to go jump in a lake.
Well folks, our lives are on the line -- every day in this War on Terror. And we have one of the world's greatest experts on national security, intelligence, counterterrorism and foreign policy representing us. Two interns (well actually only one of them was really an intern -- the other one was an intern supervisor apparently) are coming to ask us to switch doctors in the middle of heart surgery. I think I know what the message to them should be.
Sparty and BD and TA, you are to be thanked for the intellectual honesty on today's tradegy. I've just heard WGN AM 11 p.m news and the clip of what Mark Kirk said about the assassination today. Clearly Mr. Kirk expresses the kind of sound reasoning that we are going to need in this rapidly changing world. No novices, please, not here, and certainly never in the White House. Obama sounded like some trite sound bite wannabe guy. John McCain was, without question, the most promising presidential voice on this subject. At this critical juncture, with nuclear weapons in the balance, I am confident that the American people will begin to separate the wheat from the shaf very quickly. In this district there simply is no contest. Mr. Kirk showed his intellect all day today and the respect he enjoys by the radio and TV media. There's a reason he's the commenter that leading stations reach out to when they want to hear a man with a message.
I'm putting my faith in the voters in the 10th District to recognize the difference between what we have in our Congressman and the kids wanting to replace him. Ugh.
TA,
Here's your update X 2. Kirk featured in today's News Sun:
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/716217,5_1_WA28_BHUTTO_S1.article.
Sparty
Jay Footlik was quick to issue a news release (http://www.jayfootlik.com/en/node/79) yesterday expressing his sadness not only to Bhutto’s family and country, but also to “all of us who believe in peaceful, open governments that are governed by majorities but tolerant of minorities.”
Jay, like Mark Kirk, understands the implications of the Bhutto assasination and issued his proposed course of action. Dan—Kirk is Bush and therefore bad—Seals remains silent, probably because he is unable to comprehend the gravemen of what has happened.
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