THE US State Department has had little to say officially about Benazir Bhuttos ouster except that the Pakistan president appeared to have been "acting within his constitutional authority", and that it was Pakistans "internal matter". An official added that he did "not expect to see any real change in US-Pakistan relations".
Unofficially, however, Administration insiders have said that the ouster was "neither unexpected nor unwelcome". Citing Benazirs dynastic style, arrogance and other excesses, including attempts to neutralise the judiciary, a State Department source said he did not think there would be more instability in the region as a result of her dismissal. He also hoped that the newly-appointed interim cabinet would now have a chance to do "better than Benazir was able to do in two unfinished terms". It was regrettable, he added, that she was unable to focus on governance.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post, in a provocative editorial on November 7 titled "Benazir Bhutto Kicked Out", said Bhutto was "one thing abroad and another at home". Criticising the US for turning a blind eye "when Pakistan walked over American law on nuclear non-proliferation", the Post asserted that "American policy in South Asia should be encouraging civilian reform in Pakistanand in India, which has its own problems. It should be trying to diminish the disproportionate importance and clout of the military in Pakistan by helping bridge the gap between it and India. Here is one international goal for a re-elected Bill Clinton."
in Washington, DC