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Old 12-28-2007, 03:30 PM
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Default OT: Bhutto Assassinated

Posted By: John J. Grillo

Bhutto death was tragic, but let's face it, she was a crook! Some like to say it was only her husband, but both of them literally robbed Pakistan blind while she was PM. (see below). I will remind you what you read below was just the tip of the iceberg with this lady.

Bhutto was in tight with the US Republican Party and Bush and might have been a little more responsive than Musharraf in dealing with the Taliban and Al Queda in her country---again, might have!

Now the networks are trying to make her out to be some sort of Martyr? Give me a break, she probably ran out of $$$ and needed more, which is why she probably came back to Pakistan. She tried to bribe Musharraf into power sharing and when that didn't work, well the only alternative was to challenge his power directly.

I agree Musharraf could be doing more to secure his borders and do some cleaning up of any Al Queda or Taliban that may be lurking there; however, he is in a tight spot (it's just not that easy). Yes, I agree he is not the answer to Democracy in Pakistan, but Bhutto would've been more iron-fisted and crooked than he. From the international herald tribune.

"Swiss Want Bhutto Indicted in Pakistan for Money Laundering"

By ELIZABETH OLSON
Published: August 20, 1998

A Swiss investigating magistrate said today that he had amassed enough evidence, including the purchase of a diamond necklace, to indict Pakistan's former Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, on money-laundering charges tied to contracts with two Geneva-based companies.

The magistrate, Daniel Devaud, decided not to bring the charges against Ms. Bhutto in Switzerland, but rather to ask Pakistani authorities to indict her.

''She is not able to leave the country to defend herself, so I have asked Pakistan to bring the charges,'' Judge Devaud said. Ms. Bhutto was forced from office in November 1996 amid corruption charges and has since had her travels restricted by Pakistani Government authorities.

The Geneva magistrate has been conducting a wide-ranging inquiry seeking to account for more than $13.7 million frozen by Swiss authorities last fall. The money was allegedly stashed in Swiss banks by Ms. Bhutto and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari.

Judge Devaud, who indicted three others in the case in June, also asked Pakistan last month to indict Mr. Zardari on similar charges.

It is unclear if or how soon Pakistani investigators would act on the Swiss request, or even whether Ms. Bhutto could be tried for a breach of Swiss law in a Pakistani court.

The Swiss request -- which concerns a relatively small portion of the vast wealth the Bhuttos have amassed -- may be far down on the list of concerns for the Pakistani investigators. Only last week, they brought the first criminal charges against Ms. Bhutto in their efforts to track down what they estimate is $1.5 billion the couple received in bribes, kickbacks and commissions in a variety of enterprises.

Judge Devaud said that part of some 150 pages of evidence sent to Pakistan included documentation of the purchase of a $188,370 diamond necklace. That money, he emphasized, was only a small part of the funds his investigation has uncovered. He declined to give an exact figure, but said the amount was in excess of $10 million.

The money, investigators say, came from payments made by Societe Generale de Surveillance Holding S.A. and Cotecna Inspection S.A., two of the world's leading goods inspections companies, to a Bhutto family lawyer, who deposited them in offshore accounts.

Since freezing the Bhutto accounts last fall, Swiss authorities have cast a wide net for criminal wrongdoing. This spring, officials disclosed that they had been investigating whether any money in the Swiss accounts came from drug trafficking as well.

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