And Of Course, It's Bush's Fault . . .

Now wasn't this predictable ? Mark Thompson and Brian Bennett, report in Time online:

But there are some who think the Bush Administration is not without blame. Hussain Haqqani, a former top aide to Bhutto and now a professor at Boston University, thinks the U.S., which has counted Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf as a key ally against terrorism since 9/11, bears some of the responsibility. "Washington will have to answer a lot of questions, especially the Administration," he says. "People like me have been making specific requests to American officials to intervene and ask for particular security arrangements be made for her, and they have been constantly just trusting the Musharraf Administration."

Oh of course. It's all Bush's fault.

Now just how in the world was the United States going to protect Mrs. Bhutto from her own people ? In any case, I'm sure US security for a Pakistani politician would have done wonders for her domestic popularity. The consequences of trouble in that situation don't bear thinking about, there are few worse things imaginable than the current situation, but one of them would be something happening to Mrs. Bhutto while she was under the protection of US security.

While the Bush Administration was thus making friends and influencing people by throwing its weight around saving Mrs. Bhutto from every Tom, Dick and Abdul in her own country who wanted his 70 virgins, perhaps it could have altered the climate, made the crops grow, and caused water to flow uphill. Oh, and given peace a chance, too. It is superfluous to point out that if Mrs. Bhutto had not been born with more guts than sense, she could have been right there at Boston University playing professor and attending faculty teas with her friend Mr. Haqqani rather than attending open-air rallies in Pakistan.

Quite aside from the impossibility of protecting Mrs. Bhutto from her (charitably put) questionable judgment in returning to Pakistan, there is no doubt whatever if the Bush administration had intervened as Mr. Haqqani wanted, the Usual Suspects would be lining up even now to cite the interference as yet more evidence that Pakistan, President Musharraf and Mrs. Bhutto were all stooges of Uncle Sam.

But they'll say that anyway, and probably at Boston University.