December 27,2007–Following today’s assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, Amos Guiora, a counterterrorism expert and professor of law at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, has made himself available from his home in Israel to provide informed analysis on the assassination of the former prime minister and the anticipated international fallout as a result of Bhutto’s tragic death.
Guiora, who served for 19 years in the Israel Defense Forces Judge Advocate General Corps, negotiated the implementation of the Oslo Peace Agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, and is a widely cited expert on counterterrorism and security issues in the Middle East. He is the author of the recently published casebook Global Perspectives on Counterterrorism (Aspen Publishers).
“The assassination of Benazir Bhutto will have repercussions throughout the world,” Guiora said. “It will impact the internal situation in Pakistan, as well as Pakistan’s relations with American, Afghanistan, and India.”
Benazir Bhutto, who was the first female prime minister of Pakistan, led that country from 1988-1990 and again from 1993-1996. According to press accounts, she was assassinated early Thursday in Rawalpindi, surrounded by a crowd of her supporters. It was not immediately apparent whether she died from gunshot wounds or from the effects of a blast caused by a suicide bomber.
Also, on December 27, Guiora was interviewed by Salt Lake City National Public Radio affiliate KCPW concerning Bhutto’s assassination. To listen to that interview, click here: