Murder's Meaning

Following up on yesterday's post, current speculation suggests Bhutto's assassin might have been from Pakistan's notorious intelligence agency working with al Qaeda. As James Taranto observes, "If this is the work of al Qaeda, it is evidence that terrorists see democracy as a threat--and thus an illustration of a central tenet of the Bush doctrine."

IraqPundit amplifies that broader point, tying the assassination to the battle for Iraq:

Yet it appears that al-Qaeda continues to see its role in fighting Westerners and modern, liberal Muslims as a global one, not something limited to Afghanistan and Pakistan. There's an unconfirmed report that says al-Qaeda took credit for the murder of Bhutto and several bystanders. Of course we don't know yet who is responsible, but it is worth mentioning the claim:

"We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen," al-Qaeda is quoted as saying. The message is still being checked, but al-Qaeda certainly had made it clear that Benazir Bhutto was a target.

And the Associated Press reports today that a message from Osama Bin Laden is expected shortly. The story says [the] terrorism monitoring group, SITE, says Bin Laden "will discuss Iraq and the group the Islamic State of Iraq, a longtime foe of the Iraqi government and U.S. forces."

I don't think we need any additional proof that al-Qaeda and their ilk think its their duty to murder modern, liberal Muslims wherever they are -- in addition to everyone else they disagree with.

(via Best of the Web, Instapundit)