Fridays With Chris; Tragedy in Pakistan

Op-Ed

Fridays With Chris; Tragedy in Pakistan

Dear Friend,

This past week, the tragic assassination of Pakistan Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto demonstrates that Al Qaeda and the violent Islamist parties in Pakistan do not have any political legitimacy.

As someone with a background in counterterrorism and having served as an adviser for the Pentagon, this tragedy has shown me that our enemies can only make statements through mayhem, destruction and death.

This tragic assassination does not bode well for democracy in Pakistan, including the upcoming January parliamentary elections. This event is a tipping point in the history of Pakistan's democracy--what happens following these events will define Pakistan for the foreseeable future. The world will be watching--we can only hope that majority moderates in Pakistan prevail.

This attack also is a significant setback for the Bush Administration's Global War on Terror policy. The U.S. has poured billions of dollars into Pakistan to fight terror, and the fact that suicide bombing has now migrated from Afghanistan into Pakistan is very troubling. This attack, combined with a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan indicates that any gains the U.S. has made in Afghanistan are tenuous at best.

Pakistan is a linchpin in the Global War on Terror and the fact that a political figure with the stature of Benazir Bhutto can be easily assassinated demonstrates that Pakistan is still an unstable environment.

Please know that I will keep you informed on what Congress is doing to keep our country safe from those who seek to do us harm.

Sincerely,

Christopher P. Carney
Member of Congress

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