HAZAR

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight in Pakistan, there is grief and anger, grief, anger and more chaos than ever.
These are the raw and graphic images just after an assassin shot and killed former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto at a campaign rally in the city of Rawalpindi. He shot her, then blew himself up.



 
Now, tonight, only on CNN, a secret e-mail is revealed from Ms. Bhutto anticipating her own death and pointing the finger of blame. We will get to that in a moment.

But, first, look at this. This may in fact be the weapon that killed her. Pakistan TV ran video of it, showing the gun. Look closely. Part of the grip appears to be smeared in blood. Much of the ground around it is also stained in blood.

Some details are still unclear, exactly what happened. And, in a few moments, we will talk to a man who heard the shots and saw Bhutto go down.

But, so far, here's what we know about Bhutto's last moments alive. Take a look at the scene shortly before the attack. There she is, the former prime minister, attending a political rally at a park in Rawalpindi, just outside Islamabad. Now, this is the military center of Pakistan.

There were hundreds of supporters in the crowd. She greeted many of them and spoke to the crowd as well. When the rally ended, Bhutto walked to a waiting SUV.

Now, you can see the videos. They are some of the last taken of the opposition leader. She was surrounded by civilians and her security guards. Bhutto entered the armored SUV. The area was swarming with people and vehicles, though, if you look closely, not too many, not an overwhelming number of Pakistani policemen, at least not uniformed ones.

From there, the SUV drove away, Bhutto standing from the sunroof of the vehicle, smiling and waving at the throngs who had lined the road. This is one of the last pictures of her taken before her death.

Now, a short time later, witnesses say a man in a motorcycle approached Bhutto's vehicles, jumped on the back and opened fire with a gun. Reports say she was shot at least twice, once in the neck, once in the chest.

The man, a suicide bomber, blew himself up. Now, the explosion left at least 20 people dead, covering the streets in blood and bodies -- the images, devastation, chaos, horror.

Bhutto was rushed to the hospital. People there say doctors tried for a half-an-hour to save her. Mortally wounded, she died in the operating room at the age of 54. By nightfall, word of her death spreads across Pakistan. So do the protests, rioters clashing with police in Karachi and other major cities across Pakistan, flames erupting from the streets as demonstrators set fires in response to the assassination. There is anger and hate on those streets.

Later on, still at the hospital, Bhutto's body, now in a casket, was carried by hundreds of mourners. A sea of hands raise and move the coffin through the masses, their faces angry. Many wept. A day that started out with so much promise for Benazir Bhutto and Pakistan ends in grief and in shock.

As for who's responsible, Benazir Bhutto said she knew. This past October, she e-mailed her longtime friend and U.S. spokesman Mark Siegel.

Now, in the e-mail, she wrote -- and I quote -- "Nothing will, God willing, happen. Just wanted you to know, if it does, in addition to the names in my letter to Musharraf of October 16, I would hold Musharraf responsible. I have been made to feel insecure by his minions. And there is no way what is happening, in terms of stopping me from taking private cars or using tinted windows or giving jammers or four police mobiles to cover all sides, could happen without him."

At Ms. Bhutto's request, Mark Siegel forwarded that e-mail to CNN's Wolf Blitzer the day he received it, October 26. But he told Wolf not to report on it unless Ms. Bhutto was killed.

Wolf joins us now.

What was your reaction when you got that e-mail?

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, I was pretty scared for her, because even before I got that e-mail, I knew she was going into an extremely dangerous situation. I interviewed her at the end of September. And I pressed her. I said, why are you doing this? You're living in exile. You're in a secure area in Dubai or London. You come to New York or Washington all the time. Why would you do this? You're a young woman, in her early 50s, really, mid-50s. You have a whole life. You have kids. Why are you doing this?

And she said her hands -- it was all in the hands of Allah. She was a fairly religion woman in that sense. And she just thought she would be OK. But...

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: And I remember her saying to you that she cared about the children of Pakistan as about her own three children.

BLITZER: She thought she could really make a difference. And, in a situation like that, you just think it's not going to really happen. COOPER: Clearly, she had big concerns about her security. They -- they feel that Pakistan government and General Musharraf did not grant them the kind of apparatus that they needed.

I want to play some of what Mark Siegel, her spokesman, said on your program earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SITUATION ROOM")

MARK SIEGEL, FRIEND OF BENAZIR BHUTTO: Former Prime Minister Bhutto was very concerned that she was not getting the security that she had asked for and that her husband had asked for. It was very, very specific that they had asked for jammers to -- to set off IEDs. That was denied to be allowed in by the government of General Musharraf.

She had asked for special vehicles. That was denied to her. She had asked for special tinted cars. She had asked for four police vehicles to surround her at all times. She basically asked for all that was required for someone of the standing of a former prime minister. All of that was denied to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: I mean, in the e-mail, she's not saying, Musharraf killed me. She's saying, I hold him responsible for not allowing these things, these security things, to happen intentionally.

BLITZER: That's right. She's not saying he specifically ordered that she be killed or anything like that. What she is suggesting, though, that he's complicit in not giving her the kind of security precautions she felt she needed to survive.

COOPER: And it is shocking -- it is shocking, when you see those images, particularly that last photo of her when she's standing outside the sunroof. No president in the United States would be standing outside a sunroof in an open car like that.

BLITZER: And no pope, for example, would do that either, given the history of political assassinations.

COOPER: With people allowed to get so close to her at all times.

BLITZER: She just wanted to reach out and be with the Pakistani people. This was something that was very dear to her. And I guess she felt safe, that she could -- she could do this. It was obviously a very dangerous situation to -- to get up and stand up in that sunroof, and -- and just try to reach out and talk to these people.

COOPER: I want to play the response to Mr. Siegel's comments. This is from the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAHMUD ALI DURRANI, PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR TO UNITED STATES: I think it is a bit naive if you try and blame the government of Musharraf or the government of Pakistan that this happened because there were inadequate protection. When she came to Karachi -- let me put the record straight for everybody -- that there were, I think, a sea of security people.

There was -- she was surrounded by police vehicles. And, had it not been one of the police vehicles which took the blast in Karachi, unfortunately, she would have died there. There was a bubble around her of security. The PPP insisted that they have their own private loyalists around. They were there, too.

And there were about 7,800 to 8,000 security people deployed just for that. And that is more security than anybody deploys anywhere in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: This is obviously going to provide fuel for critics on all sides, and perhaps inflame things on the ground there.

What do you think is going to happen?

BLITZER: It's anyone's guess.

But I do know this, Anderson, that the stakes are enormous. This is a Muslim country, influential in the region, with a nuclear arsenal. It's not a country that is trying to build a nuclear weapon. It has, and scores, by all accounts, of nuclear warheads already.

There is a strong al Qaeda presence, a strong Taliban presence. But, probably much more significant, there are sympathizers out there, whether in the Pakistani military or the Pakistani intelligence service. You go out there, you don't know that -- with whom you're dealing. It's a very, very tenuous situation.

COOPER: And it's a country not fully in control of all the territory within its borders and a government not necessarily in control of all the people who are working for them.

BLITZER: I have spoken with U.S. experts, who insist that -- that Pervez Musharraf and the military, they do have the nuclear arsenal under control. They are confident about that.

But, you know, what happens if -- if he goes? Who might come instead? If there's an Islamic fundamentalist, al Qaeda-oriented Taliban regime, it's anyone's guess. So, the -- for the United States, for people all over the region and the world, the ramifications are really significant.

COOPER: Yes, high stakes, indeed.

Wolf, thanks, and appreciate it.

CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen joins us now. He's a frequent visitor to Pakistan and Afghanistan and is the author of "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader."

ABC News has been reporting that al Qaeda -- an al Qaeda in Afghanistan commander has claimed responsibility to an Italian news organization. Does it make sense that al Qaeda would have a hand in this?

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: It certainly makes sense that al Qaeda would have a hand in it. They have threatened to do precisely this in the past. Al Qaeda and the Taliban has sort of morphed together and it could be a joint operation.

Certainly, when they tried to kill Musharraf himself back in 2003, it was these sort of like-minded militants who got together and did the operation. So, you could imagine a range of Islamic extremists and groups, including al Qaeda, being behind it.

COOPER: "The Times" online was reporting that some militants in Waziristan had previously threatened Benazir Bhutto, one writing a letter in which he said something about killing her like killing a goat, they would also be, I guess, potential suspects.

BERGEN: Yes. And that guy is actually a Pakistani Taliban. So..

(CROSSTALK)

BERGEN: Yes. That's very plausible, too.

COOPER: There's also some who would point a finger at the security services in Pakistan, who traditionally has had links with Islamic groups, direct connection with Islamic groups, and may have a reason for wanting Benazir Bhutto out of the picture. If she got elected, they would lose some power.

BERGEN: Oh, I think there's no doubt that there's some element of the security service who were involved. Was it sort of sanctioned from the top? I very much doubt that.

Was there low-level penetration of the army by Islamist extremists, who have also tried to kill Musharraf in the past? Yes, I think that's very plausible. I mean, the only people who could have got this sort of access required in this garrison town of Rawalpindi must be somebody with some military connection.

Also, if you think about shooting somebody in the neck with one shot, I mean, that's a pretty -- in a kind of crowded situation, with a moving vehicle, somebody who did that was quite well-trained.

COOPER: But the fact that this was in Rawalpindi, I mean, this is a military town.

BERGEN: Yes.

COOPER: This is the equivalent of someone being shot right next to the Pentagon. BERGEN: Yes. It would be like if the president was shot right next to the Pentagon or right next to the CIA. It's fairly extraordinary.

COOPER: I mean, so, the only way you get access is if you have some connections with the military?

BERGEN: That is -- I think this is the case. Certainly, when Musharraf was assassinated -- there was an attempted assassination against him in that area, the people involved were low-level members of the military. When I say low-level, nobody above the rank of major.

So, that's very plausible to me that that sort of combination of extremists, plus some Pakistani military support on the low level, might have been involved.

COOPER: There's now this e-mail from Benazir Bhutto that was given to Wolf Blitzer, told to read after -- after her demise, if in fact she got killed. She has.

She says, basically, I will hold Musharraf responsible, and complains about the security arrangements that were granted to her.

Does it seem odd to you that -- I mean, you look at these pictures. There are people all around here. It doesn't look like there's a huge security force protecting her.

BERGEN: Yes. I mean, part of the problem is, wherever she was going, she was being greeted by tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of people. And how you control those situations in a place like Pakistan is very, very complicated.

But, I mean, the broad point that that e-mail made, which is that she sort of blames the Musharraf government for not doing enough about her personal security, I mean, the fact that she has been assassinated sort of speaks for itself. Clearly, not enough was done, whatever is said by the Pakistani government at this stage.

That's certainly not to say that Musharraf was in any way complicit, but not enough was being done in terms of the kinds of jamming devices that might stop radio-controlled bombs or just people around her who are really trained to deal with these situations.

COOPER: An amazing day.

Peter Bergen, thanks.

BERGEN: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Some of the dramatic pictures taken in the seconds and minutes after the assassination on Benazir Bhutto by photographer John Moore from Getty Images -- that picture incredibly dramatic right there.

What's important about Mr. Moore is, he took -- several things are important. One, he took what may be the last picture of Benazir Bhutto alive, that picture taken just minutes or seconds before she was killed. You see her standing up in the vehicle, obviously, against a lot of security people's advice. But we will talk about that a little bit later on in the program.

John Moore also actually heard the shots, three shots, he says, and saw Benazir Bhutto go down. His account is one of the first eyewitness accounts and most credible eyewitness accounts we have so far gotten.

Let's listen to what he said, what he saw before and after the assassination, in his own words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MOORE, GETTY IMAGES: The vehicle was moving very slowly, because the crowd was all around, and it was pushing through. She clearly wanted to get close to her people.

I was very surprised that she was coming out of the sunroof of this car, considering what happened in Karachi a while back. And I had been photographing her pushing through the crowd. And the vehicle sort of surged forward. And I got out of the way and moved a little bit ahead of it.

And, suddenly -- well, I turned around and heard three shots go off, and saw her go down, fall down through the sunroof down into the car. And, just at that moment, I raised my camera and started photographing with the high-speed motor drive. And that's how I was ability to capture some of the explosion when it went off and then the aftermath.

As you can see, the photo is a bit blurry, because I was being shoved around. The crowd was pushing. They were very emotional. And it was -- it was a bit chaotic even before the blast went off.

Of course, people were scattered all about. People were in different states of medical crisis. Some could still walk. Others were blown to bits. Others were maimed and just crying out for help.

It was just -- it was just a horrible scene. The carnage was just everywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The final minutes of Benazir Bhutto's life and the terrible aftermath.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER: Yes, of course, they would like to go against me. There's a threats, because under military dictatorship, and now this situation has developed that terrorists and Osama have exploited. They don't want democracy. They don't want me back, and they don't believe in women governing nations. So they will try to plot against me, but these are risks that must be taken. I'm prepared to take them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Benazir Bhutto assassinated today. Now, as soon as news of her death broke this morning, the U.S. presidential candidates scrambled to respond. With the first contest in the 2007 presidential race, the Iowa caucuses, just a few weeks -- or just a week away, the attack in Rawalpindi took center stage on the campaign trail.

CNN's Candy Crowley tonight has the "Raw Politics" from Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's the thing about the campaign trail: the world has a way of finding it. The Bhutto assassination instantly changed the conversation, offering a kind of test run for the people who would be commander-in-chief.

SEN. JOE BIDEN (D-DE), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ladies and gentlemen, the stakes are incredibly high. They are incredibly high. If Pakistan falls into complete turmoil, martial law is declared again, you end up with a state that is being run by a dictator, ladies and gentlemen, that does not bode well for Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, India.

CROWLEY: In a campaign that has been drifting toward economic issues, Bhutto's death and turmoil inside a nuclear-armed country could refocus voters on foreign policy.

If so, the advantage shifts to candidates selling their experience. If voters see a high-stakes drama in Pakistan, they may gravitate away from candidates like Mike Huckabee who today did not seem to know that President Musharraf lifted the state of emergency two weeks ago.

MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What impact does it have on whether or not there's going to be martial law continued in Pakistan?

CROWLEY: And Pakistan could give new life to someone like John McCain.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My theme has been throughout this campaign that I'm the one with the experience, the knowledge and the judgment. So, perhaps it may serve to enhance those credentials.

CROWLEY: Certainly, across the spectrum, foreign policy credentials were the topic of the day. Former U.N. ambassador Bill Richardson called on Musharraf to resign. Others just called him.

JOHN EDWARDS (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I actually spoke to President Musharraf just a few minutes ago as I was about to come in here. And he was in Islamabad. And I urged him to continue this democratization process.

CROWLEY: Locked inside a tough three-way battle for Iowa, Hillary Clinton has spent a year calling herself the most experienced, most qualified candidate. Today she stressed ties with Bhutto on the tragedy of the death, but inside the campaign, they believe the more voters see the stakes as high, the better she does.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is one of the most important elections of our lifetime. And it certainly raises the stakes high for what we have to expect from our next president.

CROWLEY: Camp Obama, which has spent a year pushing back on criticism that he lacks experience, insists they welcome a renewed discussion on foreign policy, because when talk turns to a troubled world, the Obama campaign turns to Clinton's "yes" vote on the Iraq war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was a strong supporter of the war in Iraq, which we would submit is one of the reasons why we were diverted from Afghanistan, Pakistan, al Qaeda, who may have been players in this event today. So that's a judgment she'll have to defend.

CROWLEY: The Clinton campaign said the suggestion that her vote caused unrest in Pakistan is baseless, adding that this is a time to focus on the people of Pakistan, not politics.

In fact most of the candidates say they didn't want to turn the assassination into a talking point, but it's a week before the Iowa caucuses, and world events not only change a conversation; they can change a campaign.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Candy, what are the chances this is going to have an impact on the caucuses, on the campaign trail?

CROWLEY: You know, it's so close here in the polls, with Edwards, Obama, Clinton, you know, all within a hair's breadth of each other, that almost anything can move this campaign now here in Iowa.

But I think it also depends on what happens over the next week. There is -- it is not the assassination per se, I think, that will move it so much as the tension. I mean we're talking about a nuclear power. Will there be turmoil in the streets? Will there be some sense that Pakistan is getting out of control?

So, you know, the more it adds on to this, I think the more a lot of these candidate also argue, "Listen, this has to be about experience. The world can change on a dime."

So I think the next week and what happens on the ground in Pakistan could have an increasing affect on the outcome on the third.

COOPER: it was interesting today, though, to see which candidates made sure to mentioned that they had met Benazir Bhutto and had met Musharraf and to spend time there and those who just kind of were mum on the subject.

Candy Crowley...

CROWLEY: Yes. Yes. I mean, it's just interesting because they all had to flash their foreign policy credentials. I mean, that was the bottom line there.

COOPER: And that they did. Candy, thanks.

Earlier today we reached out to the Democratic and Republican presidential front-runners and asked them to tell us how they'd responsibility to today's bloody events in Pakistan if they were president. Two were able to talk with us directly. Tonight, we start with Governor Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Governor Romney, if you were president of the United States, how would you respond to this attack in Pakistan?

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, first of all, of course, you bring together your national security advisors. That would, of course, include officers, the leaders of the CIA and national intelligence team.

You'd also want to hear directly from your offices in Islamabad, from our State Department personnel on the ground, from military personnel on the ground, our CIA station chief and others. And -- and I presume the president would also want to place a call to General Musharraf to get his perspective on what's occurring.

COOPER: How much confidence do you have in Pakistan's president, President Musharraf as a leader? I mean, certainly, a weakened leadership position nowadays. Are you confident in him as a leader and as an ally in the war on terror?

ROMNEY: Well, he has been a faithful ally in the war on terror and has -- has done a very extensive effort to round up al Qaeda and Taliban operatives. But he has been less than effective in being able to build the kind of public support around a democratic process that includes him.

But nonetheless, as long as he has the support of the military and the senior leadership of the military, he should be able to retain a degree of order there that would keep the country from falling into some kind of major conflict.

COOPER: Governor John McCain said today this crisis underscores why the next president must have extensive foreign policy experience. How do you respond to that? Does he have a point?

ROMNEY: Well, I think it's very important that the next president has experience making important decisions, making them on a deliberate basis, knowing how to bring together brilliant people, listening to them, gathering data, analyzing data and making good decisions based upon that kind of information.

COOPER: So foreign policy experience, per se, is not essential, just experience?

ROMNEY: Well, if -- if foreign policy experience were the measure for selecting a president, we'd just go to the State Department and pick up one of the thousands and thousands of people who've spent their whole life in foreign policy, and frankly, becoming a United States senator does not make one a foreign policy expert, either.

What you want is people who have the ability to assemble a team of capable individuals, hear them out, listen to data and make important decisions. That, after all, is what Ronald Reagan did. He was not a foreign policy expert. He just happened to lead America to the greatest foreign policy achievement of the last half of the last century.

COOPER: Governor Mitt Romney, appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

ROMNEY: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, Senator John McCain also agreed to speak with us tonight. He's, of course, a long-time member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and joins us from the campaign trail in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Senator, you said today's events show how important it is for a president to have foreign policy experience. If you were president today, what would your moves be toward Pakistan?

MCCAIN: Well, my first move would be to make sure that the nuclear arsenal is safeguarded and would be secure under any scenario that might transpire.

The second thing that I would do would be in constant communication with Musharraf, who I have known for many years and known pretty well, as well as other players there. I would urge that they continue with the process of a free and fair election, that as little force as possible can be displayed if there is continued riots and demonstrations.

I would also continue my advocacy for the return of a -- the judicial system and, frankly, all the trappings of democracy.

And Musharraf has been moving in our direction. We've got to ask who wins in this scenario, and I think it's the jihadists. The extremists win in this kind of scenario. It's very dicey right now.

COOPER: Is there any other option but Musharraf?

MCCAIN: I think that the new chief of staff of the army is a person who's clearly going to be a player, because the army will play a role in whatever and however any unrest is addressed.

But I think Musharraf, as the president of the country, is probably -- and he has stepped down from his military position, as you know. Is probably also a key element.

But I would also get together with the former -- with the members of former Benazir Bhutto's party and find out what their plans are and whether they will have a candidate and whether they can coalesce around one. As you know in Pakistan politics, it's much more personality-driven than party-driven.

COOPER: I talked to Governor Romney a short time ago. I asked him about his foreign policy experience. He said he thought experience is what matters, not necessarily foreign policy experience. He says, frankly, you can get anyone from the State Department. They all have foreign policy experience. They wouldn't make a good president, necessarily. And he said, frankly, becoming a U.S. senator does not make one a foreign policy expert, either.

What do you make of that?

MCCAIN: I think he's in a tailspin. I'm familiar with those. I've been involved in every major national security issue for the last 20 years. I understand the issues.

On Iraq, I rejected Rumsfeld's strategy. I strongly supported the Petraeus strategy that's succeeding. It's obvious that my credentials are very well known and very important in this very dangerous world, in which we have two wars and a constant struggle against radical Islamist extremism.

COOPER: Senator McCain joining us from Iowa tonight. Sir, thank you very much for your time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: One program note: I'll be reporting from Pakistan tomorrow night to cover the funeral of Benazir Bhutto.