Musharraf Should Resign

When democracy candidate Benazir Bhutto was killed in Pakistan last week, most of the presidential candidates in the United States tried to outdo each other claiming how they would be the best one to deal with the dangerous situation created by the killing. All but the candidate with the most foreign policy experience -- Bill Richardson.

Richardson cut right to the heart of the problem and immediately said that President Musharraf should resign and turn over power to a coalition government. Richardson was absolutely right. Guilty or innocent, Musharraf will always be tarred by the murder of Bhutto. He was teetering on the brink before the murder -- there is no way he can continue to rule Pakistan now.

Most of the people in Pakistan believe Musharraf is responsible for Bhutto's death. This is not an unreasonable belief. The only evidence we have that he's not responsible are his own words, while there's much more to lead one to believe he is responsible.

First, there is his refusal to provide adequate protection for Benazir Bhutto. She knew she was in danger, and had asked him to provide protection. The fact that he refused to authorize the protection can only mean that he either could not see the danger she was in (unlikely, since everyone else could see it), or he wanted her death.

Second, are the words of Benazir Bhutto. She told her followers and others that if she were to be killed, "Musharraf will be responsible". She knew the current Pakistani president was a constant danger to her safety.

Third, the government headed by Musharraf has lied about her death since it happened. They still refuse to admit that she was shot prior to the explosion. First, they tried to say she was hit by shrapnel from the bomb. Then they changed that story to say she hit her head on the car when she fell. Neither story is true. British Channel 4 News has footage which shows a shooter before the expolsion.

Fourth, on the day she was killed, Bhutto had an appointment with two American politicians she trusted -- Senator Arlen Spector (R-Pennsylvania) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-Rhode Island). At that meeting she was going to hand over evidence that Musharraf was using Pakistani intelligence to fix the coming election.

U.S. aid money was being used to print fake ballots supporting Musharraf, that would be introduced into the election to swing it in favor of Musharraf. She was giving the evidence to Spector and Kennedy because she did not trust the Bush administration, which has cast its lot with Musharraf.

She may well have been wise not to trust the Bush administration. They have been quick to jump on board with Musharraf's accusation that al-Queda was responsible for Bhutto's death, even though there is no evidence of this at all.

The citizens of Pakistan blame Musharraf for Bhutto's death -- even those who were not supporting her. There is rioting going on there. Musharraf cannot hold on to power there. If he tries, it will just prolong the violence and put Pakistan's future in peril.

Musharraf should resign and turn power over to a coalition government. It is the only hope for peace in that troubled nuclear power.