Foment builds around the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. And now the Pakistan government's official story about her death has shifted.

I found this interview with Bhutto on Alternet. David Frost spoke with her shortly after her caravan was attacked in Karachi last November. She explicitly addresses questions about that attack and its intent, as well as her relationship with Musharaff.

Some are calling her assassination the end of hope in the region. Meanwhile, politicos in the U.S. are using Bhutto's death (Rudolph W. Giuliani) or "clueless" (that Huckabee guy).

Again, I think we need to be paying close attention to what this situation will justify in the world arena. Of course, Bush and the rest of the world have denounced her assassination. Consider how the whole thing has played out as projected, perhaps even as Bhutto herself projected. Still her death is a shock. From what her supporters say, her global reputation seemed to lend her protected status. She is the face of democracy in Pakistan. She even represented a reconciliation with India.

Yet the attack in Karachi upon her return from exile happened in a neighborhood populated by wealthy, politically influential residents, which suggests that political weight was not protecting anyone, including Bhutto.

Instead of a messy democratic Pakistan, Bhutto's assassination sacrifices democracy to martyrdom, which is much easier to manipulate. Musharaff likely will remain in charge. The chaos engendered by Bhutto's death paves the way for another crackdown, or at least, a postponement of elections in the name of fighting terrorism.

A real democracy in Pakistan might not sustain U.S. plans for the region. Now Bhutto's calls for democratic reform pose no threat to the expanding empire. Instead, the assassination fits right into the U.S. characterization of the "terrorists' war on us." As Rudy argues,

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a tragic event for Pakistan and for democracy in Pakistan. Her murderers must be brought to justice and Pakistan must continue the path back to democracy and the rule of law. Her death is a reminder that terrorism anywhere -- whether in New York, London, Tel-Aviv or Rawalpindi -- is an enemy of freedom. We must redouble our efforts to win the Terrorists' War on Us.

By this logic, Bhutto's martyrdom and the ensuing chaos, once dubbed "acts of terror", further justify our war. The only possible response to her death is expanding war. Without doubt, the attack on Bhutto's rally, like the attack on her caravan, was an act of terror. But responding to terror with terror breeds terror, as we witness in the news of Iraq and Afghanistan every day. If another crackdown is the type of redoubling effort Giuliani advocates, that move is also without doubt, a course of action that Bhutto would not have approved.

While I quote Giuliani, by no means expert in foreign relations (or justice or democracy or reason), it seems obvious that his rhetoric reflects the underlying logic of our warmongering lifestyles. That's what it all comes down to, this current propagation of "democracy" across the planet.

As the American Dream supersizes itself, we keep buying it. The gap between the uber-rich and the rest of us widens, and we keep insisting that the virtue of uber-wealth sanctifies its means. We keep insisting on lifestyles that require the exploitation of others. We eat Burger King and shop Walmart and pay taxes to fund Haliburton, all delivered through exploitation in Florida, in China, in Iraq. We justify the complete destruction of a sovereign country's infrastructure, the decimation of its internal systems, including the family, because we believe our "way of life" is worth more than their lives. I think it's really that simple.

We call our way of life "democracy" and claim "they hate our freedom" but we'll sacrifice our own freedoms for great sale prices. We know the war on terror is a war for oil, and really, what's wrong with that, as long as we can drive our cars and watch tv.

The sad residue of manifest destiny.

Dramatic, sure, but let's wake up. How much longer will we consume the war on terror's doublespeak? How much longer do we watch our rights erode? Our values? How much more terror will we ignore in the world? How many more soldiers will we sacrifice? How many more mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters?