I disagree in the sense the Musharraf is probably speaking in terms of her protection.

Yes the terrorists are ultimately responsible.

But if her security team told her to not stand up outside the car and she did, I no longer hold her security responsible for their inability to protect her.

His opposition is already inflamed. and if telling the truth is knuckleheaded? I guess He wins the prize.

jpm100 has it right. I heard the comment in its full context and that was exactly what Musharraf was saying.

It may not have been smart to say it, but it is the truth.

And I suspect that Bhutto was quite aware of the risk.

Musharraf is being directly blamed for Bhutto's death by her party and supporters. His remarks came in this context - he clearly wasn't absolving the assassins, he was absolving himself.

And the man has a point. It would be one thing to blame Kennedy for declining the bulletproof bubble the Secret Service wanted him to use in Dallas: no President had used it previously, and there were no specific threats at the time. However, if he had been fired upon in DC and Hyannisport within the last two months and still refused the protection, he would have to bear some responsibility, would he not?

It was just so for Bhutto. There had already been two attempts on her life, one killing over 150 bystanders. Al Qaeda and the radicals had publicly declared their intent to kill her. Her own people wanted an extra four cars of security detail, one for each side of her vehicle. She had a specially armored vehicle with bulletproof glass.

All the security precautions in the world don't do much good if you stick your fool head out of the roof and keep it there, do they?

If a zoo patron climbs into an exhibit of tigers and they get killed who's fault is it? If a suspect ignores a Police officer's command to drop their weapon and gets killed who's fault is it? We could say it was the tiger's fault or the police officer's fault, but it's reasonable to blame the so-called victim for placing themselves in the situation that resulted in their death.

It's not as clear cut in Bhutto's case, but she knew there were people trying to kill her and she knew they could have had guns. At a minimum she should have had a bullet resistant clear cube installed on top of her limo so she could stand up and let the crowd see her while still having some protection. Not taking such a simple precaution means she's more responsible for her own death than anyone other than the actual killers and those who sent them. It's certainly not Musharraf's fault unless he had a hand in Bhutto's killing.

Give him the coveted FOOT IN MOUTH AWARD for being a liberal nit wit

I find this one rather weak, Bill. You are taking his comments out of context. Musharref is exactly right, Bhutto acted recklessly - and its been clear from other articles in the press that she did so knowingly.

What, not giving it to Mark Steyn today?