My Fellow Americans,

Yesterday, December 27th 2007, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was brutally assassinated by an Al-Qaeda suicide bomber. Two dozen or so innocent bystanders were needlessly slain, and over one hundred other individuals were maimed and burned by the bomb. In an e-mail to be released upon her death, Bhutto pointed the finger of blame at President Pervez Musharraf for not providing her adequate security. Currently, Pakistan is engulfed in an atmosphere of outrage, anger, grief, violence, and death. Yet, President Bush remains on vacation during this international crisis...

Benazir Bhutto, who was the first female Prime Minister of a major Muslim country, returned to her native Pakistan in order to save her oppressed people from the destructive forces of Islamic Fundamentalism (Al-Qaeda & Taliban) and the illegitimate dictatorship (Musharraf). Bhutto was a charismatic visionary who would have presided over Pakistan's journey into parliamentary democracy and socio-economic mobility. This courageous woman suffered a martyr's death for democracy and the people, but her progressive agenda ought to persevere until Pakistan is reformed for the better. Implementing martial law and postponing the elections would be completely antithetical to the hope-filled message of Bhutto.

Immediately after Benazir Bhutto's assassination, major news networks seemed to be more concerned with that tragic events' effect upon the 2008 race to the White House than the loss of her life. While that speculative conversation should be had in the near future, I have found that such an imprudent discussion is unfortunately dominating the news now. Currently, the world should be centered upon the life, sacrifice, and legacy of this extraordinary woman, instead of the geo-political ramifications of her assassination.

Certainly, my thoughts and prayers are with the Pakistani people, most especially the family of Benazir Bhutto. May Allah, Whose Name was the last word from her lips, receive his fallen servant into Paradise. Amen.

Requiescat in Pace,

James