The Terror Graduation
By Bob Parks (12/28/07)
I must admit I was not surprised by the reactions to the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Our presidential candidates, from both sides, offered condolences to her family and "grieving" nation. That is, except for Hillary Clinton. Like Bill, this moment in time was all about her.
"I am profoundly saddened and outraged by the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, a leader of tremendous political and personal courage. I came to know Mrs. Bhutto over many years, during her tenures as Prime Minister and during her years in exile."
Even though they only met once during the Clinton Administration's eight years, it didn't take long for Hillary's campaign to release a relevant photo.
During a conversation with Laura Ingraham on Thursday night's "The O'Reilly Factor", she interviewed a former member of CAIR for reaction. He said something like the assassination of Bhutto was of the same magnitude as when John F. Kennedy was killed.
Funny, I don't remember Americans taking to the street in mass grieving, and quickly evolving into murderous rabble. Nice try.
But what many don't seem to have noted is that the terrorists have now officially graduated from merely killing civilians en masse. They now seem quite comfortable creating their brand of chaos by targeting political leaders. Judging from the results in the streets, it may not be long before we see more leaders targeted, as many in that part of the world are easily whipped up into a frenzy, taking to the streets in violent protest.
Hopefully, terrorism is now real to our leaders. I've always commented on how many of our day-to-day problems haven't been solved because they don't directly affect our politicians. If our anointed had to deal with violent gangs in their neighborhoods, or if some banger strafed the Capitol Hill steps, gang violence would be an issue requiring their immediate attention. Since that occurs "somewhere else", we're just expected to deal with it.
But now that political figures are on equal footing with us mere citizens, they may take notice. Hopefully, the War on Terror has also been elevated and is no longer just a "bumper sticker slogan" but a reality many in the world have paid the ultimate price witnessing. Maybe, to some, what happens there can happen here and no one is truly safe from these murderers.
Short memories are such an inconvenience.
With the murder of Benazir Bhutto, the terrorists have passed their test. Let's hope our politicians show up to take theirs.
Bob Parks
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