[Maynerd]

Novak is sounding a bit like Michael Moore. I can hear it now "Bush killed Bhutto."

[Soliton]

How is it that th State Department could be reponsible for her safety? She wasn’t American or in America.

Don’t stick your head out the window in a bad neighborhood.

[justa-hairyape]

And I suppose demanding that Musharif resign from running the military had no affect on his ability to protect the DC Elites Progressive Princess.

[VeniVidiVici]

Yeah, Novak. I’m sure Bhutto would have been the envy of the Muslim world if she had American guards.

You’re such a putz.

[Billthedrill]

Novak isn't really one of the "America is to blame" crowd, and so we must look elsewhere for the explanation to this strange little piece. I think it might be something like this - people who work inside the Beltway, and I mean nearly all of 'em, tend to develop an overweening sense of institutional importance. The world doesn't really dance to the tune set there, however convenient it is for those who do hate America to pretend so (it makes blame so much easier). But it is a flattering and rather seductive illusion for those who fancy that they have some influence on the affairs within.

The person responsible for the presence of Benazir Bhutto on that street at that time is named Benazir Bhutto. To pretend otherwise is demeaning and disrespectful of her courage. If there is some lever some minion at State could have pulled, some arm that could have been twisted to influence events otherwise, it is irrelevant at this point.

I caution both friend and foe against buying into the fond illusion of America the Omniscient, the Omnipresent, the Omnipotent. It isn't so, and it is a good thing for the world in the long run that it isn't.

[airborne]

The U.S. reaction was that she was worried over nothing,...

What? Where did he get this idea?

In early December, a former Pakistani government official supporting Bhutto visited a senior U.S. government official to renew her security requests. He got a brush-off, a mindset reflected Dec. 6 in a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing...

Ohh! Could it be that the Democrats had something to do with denying her better protection?

[DGHoodini]

Yet another State Dept. clusterfrick.
At best, it’s blatant incompetence.

[patch789]

what was the nature of the security
that Bhutto DID have?

private?
provided by who?
etc