US forced into 'Plan B' for Pakistan (Bhutto's scarf didn't work)

[donsu]

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IJ24Df01.html


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The bomb attack during a homecoming procession for Bhutto, who has been in exile for seven years, has caused grave doubts in Washington over Bhutto's ability to deliver in the "war on terror" and to support Musharraf's falling political fortunes.

The Musharraf-Bhutto "marriage" is part of a complex arrangement brokered by Washington and its allies to ensure that a pro-Western government gains power after parliamentary elections in about three months' time.

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"This backroom deal I think is going to explode in our face," Bruce Riedel, who advised three US presidents on South Asian issues, told the newspaper in an interview. "Ms Bhutto and Mr Musharraf detest each other, and the concept that they can somehow work collaboratively is a real stretch."

Washington's remarkably quick realization of fault lines in its policy on Pakistan contrasts with its approach to Afghanistan and Iraq, where it has been slow to acknowledge mistakes, if at all.

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Within Pakistan, such accusations and counter-accusations will continue, but in Washington the writing is already on the wall: a new and seemingly impenetrable layer of distrust has been added to relations between Bhutto and the government.

The chief beneficiary will be the person chosen by Washington to take Bhutto's place in the proposed union with Musharraf.
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