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We have 3 separate scenarios of how Benazir Bhutto died.

1) She was shot in the neck.
2) An explosion cause shrapnel to hit her in the neck.
3) She hit her head so hard as she was ducking that she broke her skull in 2 places.

Eyewitness accounts seem to contradict the “official government” account. Late last night there seemed to be some stories about doing a formal autopsy.

As a surgeon, I can tell you that this photo doesn’t show squat. This could be a photo of an elbow or a knee cap. There is no way for me to tell if this is a photo of a skull. The photo is so blown up, I can’t identify any landmarks. Maybe I’m just not smart enough. If they “had” to blow up the photo this much then the fractures were probably minor and therefore, did not contribute significantly to her death. Where’s the CT scan? Where there no scanners available? What was the plan if something happened? What it to take her to a major hospital? Was there a helicopter available?

When President Bush goes anywhere, there are extensive plans. Local trauma centers are notified. Trauma surgeons are interviewed. The hospital is reviewed by the Secret Service. I understand that Bhutto was not President or Prime Minister but she should have had similar plans made by her staff. Where are they?

Update: It appears that Bhutto’s son and husband have been chosen to lead the party. From NYT: “Three days after the death of Benazir Bhutto, the Pakistan People’s Party on Sunday chose her 19-year-old son, Bilawal, and her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, as co-leaders of the party, the biggest and most potent in Pakistan.”

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Newhoggers has done a great job following this story:

[An] amateur picture is of a man aiming a handgun towards Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle. The Daily Telegraph spoke to Safdar Abbassi, her chief political adviser, who was sitting behind her.

“All of a sudden there was the sound of firing. I heard the sound of a bullet.”I saw her: she looked as though she ducked in when she heard the firing. We did not realise that she had been hit by a bullet.”

He had looked up to see Ms Bhutto sliding back through the aperture in the roof of the white Land Cruiser. Moments later, the car was rocked by a huge explosion.

There was no sound from the fallen leader. (more…)