The assassins got her this time:
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday outside a large gathering of her supporters where a suicide bomber also killed at least 14, doctors and a spokesman for her party said.
While Bhutto appeared to have died from bullet wounds, it was not immediately clear if she was shot or if her wounds were caused by bomb shrapnel.
President Pervez Musharraf held an emergency meeting in the hours after the death, according to state media.
Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected rioting to break out in city streets in reaction to the death.
Police sources told CNN the bomber, who was riding a motorcycle, blew himself up near Bhutto's vehicle.
The murder of one of Pakistan's leading opposition figures, coming as it does amidst increasingly violent turmoil in the country, can push the country even closer to the brink of civil war.
You will remember that Bhutto was "welcomed" back to Pakistan in October with a deadly suicide attack that left more than 120 of her followers dead.
Musharraf will undoubtedly be fingered by many in Pakistan, even though I seriously doubt he had anything to do with this. Bhutto's death can further weaken his hold on power, and strengthen the Islamic extremists who already occupy significant regions of the country.
The situation in the most dangerous region in the world suddenly got even more precarious.
Update: National Review Online has a very interesting symposium of short insights on the tragedy and its likely consequences for Pakistan.
It is pretty clear that the immediate losers from this murder is President Musharraf, everybody who hopes for democratisation in Pakistan, and the west who has made a troubled alliance with the president while paying lip service to democracy.
The winners are first and foremost the Islamist extremists who carried out this assassination, whether al-Qaeda itself, the new Taliban-like tribal extremists in rural Pakistan or some aligned entities.
If al-Qaeda has indeed regrouped sufficiently to launch such an attack in the heart of urban Pakistan, having the logistical infrastructure for striking at the heart of the country, then the worst fears are about to materialise. The safe haven tribal regions in Pakistan provides has undone much of the damage done to the terrorist network following the attack on Afghanistan.
It also raises serious questions about the level of extremist infiltration of the military and security apparatus. Musharraf is desperately short of friends now, this string of terror attacks have proven his weakness in the eyes of many predators, and it may only be a matter of time before generals far more sympathetic to the Jihadists try to seize power over Pakistan and, with it, a significant nuclear arsenal.
Lastly, the winners also include opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, who is far more tolerant of Islamist extremism than Bhutto or Musharraf. The president may feel forced to cancel the upcoming elections to prevent Shafir from taking power, a move that will further expose what is perceived as western hypocrisy regarding Pakistan's democratisation.
5:08:42 PM 
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