One of the best al Qaeda watchers, Paul Cruickshank, thinks the Bhutto assassination has all the markings of al Qaeda. The Pakistan government has now accused al Qaeda of the crime.
But others are noting that many in Pakistan — even in government circles — wanted Bhutto done away with. Some officials have told me that there even exists the possibility that Musharraf himself might have known nothing — but that other elders in the intelligence and military establishment could have set this up.
We just don’t know.
But this raises the question of how groups might exploit the fragility of the Muslim world right now — particularly across the Middle East. I’ve been particularly concerned about some violent group — within or outside Iran, perhaps even from Iran’s own IRGC al Quds force — staging an attack on Iran in some form that made it appear that Israel or the West had struck Iran.
I’m not predicting this will happen, but I think we’re in a situation where shocking incidents will be occurring with increasing frequency — and the real culprits behind the turmoil may not always be the most obvious — like al Qaeda in the Bhutto murder.
Others have their agendas too.
— Steve Clemons
16 comments on “Did al Qaeda Do It?”