Pakistan's Leadership Crisis and Nuclear Weapons

Making News

Aftermath of the Attack on Benazir Bhutto in Karachi ()

After midnight last night, two bomb blasts disrupted Benazir Bhutto's triumphant return to Pakistan after eight years in exile.  Almost 150 people were killed and hundreds more injured. At a news conference this morning, the former Prime Minister condemned yesterday's bombings as "a dastardly and cowardly attack…on a political leader" that was absolutely against the tenets of Islam. Shahan Mufti reports for the Christian Science Monitor.

Guests:

• Shahan Mufti: Correspondent, Christian Science Monitor

Main Topic

Violence Greets Bhutto's Return to Nuclear-Armed Pakistan ()

Benazir Bhutto's return to Pakistan yesterday was made possible by a deal with Pervez Musharraf, who offered her amnesty from charges of stealing millions of dollars during her two terms as Prime Minister in exchange for Bhutto's party allowing Musharraf to be reelected President by the parliament, even though he is still the head of the Army.  Last night's bombing turned a festival into a tragedy, killing almost 150 people and wounding hundreds more. Now, recriminations are fueling uncertainties about the deals between Musharraf and Bhutto, deals which are already being challenged in court. If that were not enough, it is being reported that the US and Britain ignored Pakistan's illegal nuclear weapons trade for 30 years, all the way back to the Presidency of Democrat Jimmy Carter. Did concern for the alliance allow Pakistan to become a nuclear power and illegally spread the technology to Libya, North Korea and Iran?  What can the US do now?

Guests:

• Najam Sethi: Editor, Friday Times, @najam_sethi
• Adrian Levy: Special Correspondent, Guardian
• David Armstrong: Bureau Chief, National Security News Service
• Henry Sokolski: former Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy, Defense Department
• Philip Coyle: former Weapons Testing Director, Pentagon

Links:

• Economist on yesterday's suicide bombings
• Levy's 'Deception: Pakistan, the United States and the Secret Trade in Nuclear Weapons'
• Armstrong's 'America and the Islamic Bomb'
• Sokolski's 'Best of Intentions'

Reporter's Notebook

Cities Turn to a Blackout to Go Green ()

"Good things happen in the dark" is the slogan of a California event planed for this Saturday as a run-up to a national event planned for next March 29. At 8pm West Coast time this Saturday, lights will go out for an hour in major California cities. The TransAmerica Pyramid and the Golden Gate Bridge will go dark in San Francisco. So will the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles. Brian Scott, director for Lights Out, joins us from San Francisco for a conservation about energy conservation and a chance to look at the stars.

Guests:

• Brian Scott: Director of Operations, Lights Out