2007.12.27: December 27, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Afghanistan: University Education: Omaha World-Herald : Thomas Gouttierre says Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis
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2007.12.27: December 27, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Afghanistan: University Education: Omaha World-Herald : Thomas Gouttierre says Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis
Thomas Gouttierre says Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis
Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis, said Thomas Gouttierre, dean of international studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Central Asia expert. She also will be remembered for her checkered record as prime minister, Gouttierre said, during which she and her husband were accused of stealing more than a billion dollars from the government. Members of Bhutto's Cabinet also quietly aligned with extremists like the Taliban during her second term as prime minister, Gouttierre said. Thomas Gouttierre, dean of International Studies and Programs and director of the Center for Afghanistan Studies at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan in the 1960's.
Thomas Gouttierre says Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis
Expert at UNO sees a complicated future for Pakistan
BY MATTHEW HANSEN
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
[Excerpt]
Benazir Bhutto will be remembered as the first woman to lead a Muslim country and a beloved symbol of democracy and modernization to many Pakistanis, said Thomas Gouttierre, dean of international studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Central Asia expert.
She also will be remembered for her checkered record as prime minister, Gouttierre said, during which she and her husband were accused of stealing more than a billion dollars from the government.
Members of Bhutto's Cabinet also quietly aligned with extremists like the Taliban during her second term as prime minister, Gouttierre said.
She faced the same political calculations as many of Pakistan's recent leaders: Try to keep the country's moderates happy while at the same time bowing to military power and pacifying the extremist Islamic leaders often favored by Pakistan's intelligence agency.
Bhutto returned to Pakistan this fall after living in exile in London for the past decade.
She repeatedly criticized Musharraf for failing to rid the country of terrorists, remaking herself as a democratic reformer despite her own checkered record.
"It's a tragedy for Pakistan's political process," Gouttierre said. "Whatever may have been her qualities or her lack of qualities, she was a charismatic, symbolically effective leader."
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Headlines: December, 2007; Figures; Peace Corps Afghanistan; Directory of Afghanistan RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Afghanistan RPCVs; University Education; Nebraska
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Story Source: Omaha World-Herald
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