Hillary Clinton glad-handing Pervez Musharraf

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Thursday has focused world attention on the growing crisis in Pakistan. The violent terrorist attack on the former prime minister also prompted presidential candidates to weigh in on the assassination, U.S. bilateral relations with Pakistan, and terrorism.

Not surprisingly, each of the candidates tried to spin the event to his/her advantage, with Hillary Clinton declaring, “I have known Benazir Bhutto for more than 12 years; she’s someone whom I was honored to visit as first lady when she was prime minister.”

But what Hillary did not mention was the role that the Clinton administration played in the military coup that brought Pervez Musharraf to power in 1999.

True, after Musharraf came to power, Bill Clinton called on him to hold elections and return Pakistan to democracy; but there is no evidence that Clinton ever threatened to reduce the enormous U.S. foreign aid to that South Asian country, most of which goes directly to the Pakistani military. And Clinton’s meeting with Musharraf in March 2000 did nothing to move the dictator towards a restoration of democracy.

Investigative journalist Greg Palast reports on a connection between Hillary’s old Rose Law Firm partner Webster Hubbell and billions of dollars in contracting fees that Pakistan owed to British and American electricity companies.

Whether there’s anything to it, Palast’s story is intriguing at the very least, not to mention disturbing; but you certainly won’t hear anything about it from Bill or Hillary or the Clinton campaign.