Al Qaeda Behind Bhutto Bombing

It didn't take long for violence to break out in Pakistan following the return of Benazir Bhutto. The main suspect in the bombing which killed over 125 people is, of course, al Qaeda:

President Gen. Pervez Musharraf labeled the attack part of a "conspiracy against democracy," reaching out to the former prime minister with whom he is trying to forge a pro-U.S., anti-militant alliance.

The "signature at the blast site and the modus operandi" suggested the involvement of militants linked to warlord Baitullah Mehsud and al-Qaida, said Ghulam Muhammad Mohtarem, the head security official in the province where Mehsud is based.

"We were already fearing a strike from Mehsud and his local affiliates and this were conveyed to the (Bhutto's Pakistan's) People's Party but they got carried away by political exigencies instead of taking our concern seriously," Mohtarem said.

There was no claim of responsibility for the bombing of Bhutto's convoy, which killed up to 136 people as she triumphantly paraded through her hometown of Karachi Thursday.

Al Qaeda is pretty much a one trick pony these days. Their toolbox contains suicide bombings and that's about it. If they can't make it blow up, they've got nothing.

Of course, you can't leave the Pakistani government out of this. They had the ultimate responsibility to clear the route and they failed, either accidentally or willingly. The violence isn't over, that's for sure.