Sure Thing

There are no sure things. You could be walking across the street tomorrow and get hit by a bus. Or you could be shot by an assassin who then blows himself up. That's what happened to Benazir Bhutto today. Remember how a couple of days ago we were congratulating ourselves on the relative calm in the Middle East? Maybe it's time to rethink that.
Halfway around the world, as we drag the recycling to the curb and start to put the decorations away, life continues in its most unpleasant form. We continue to wonder how things could have gotten so crazy, but then we don't tend to acknowledge chaos until it blows up in our collective faces. At least nine people were killed across Pakistan in rioting that broke out in the aftermath of the assassination. In the southern port city of Karachi, where Bhutto was born, her angry supporters shot at police and burned a gas station. Here in America we only see that kind of behavior after someone wins a Super Bowl.
But this is different. When Americans set things on fire, it doesn't usually imply the destabilization of an entire region. Indianapolis does not control its own nuclear stockpile. Pakistan does. Now the upcoming elections in January may have to be postponed, a choice that President Pervez Musharraf will undoubtedly use to fuel his fire against the ever-popular "Islamic extremists". "I want to appeal to the nation to remain peaceful and exercise restraint," he said.
Sure thing.