Bhutto's death is big setback for U.S.

WASHINGTON — The assassination of Benazir Bhutto on Thursday left in ruins the delicate diplomatic effort the Bush administration had pursued in the past year to reconcile Pakistan's deeply divided political factions. Now it is scrambling to sort through ever more limited options as American influence on Pakistan's internal affairs continues to decline.

On Thursday, officials at the American Embassy in Islamabad reached out to members of the political party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, according to a senior administration official. The very fact that officials are even talking to backers of Sharif, a man those officials have long mistrusted and whose return to Pakistan they discouraged because they believe he has too many ties to Islamist parties, suggests how hard it will be to find a partner the United States fully trusts.

The assassination highlighted, in spectacular fashion, the failure of two of President Bush's main objectives in the region: his quest to bring democracy to the Muslim world and his drive to force out the Islamist militants who have hung on tenaciously in Pakistan, the nuclear-armed state considered ground zero in Bush's fight against terrorism, despite the administration's long-running effort to root out al-Qaida from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Administration officials say the United States still wants the Pakistani elections to proceed, either as scheduled on Jan. 8 or soon after. But several senior administration officials acknowledged that Musharraf may decide to put off the elections if the already unstable political climate in Pakistan deteriorates further.

An administration official said American Embassy officials were trying to reach out to Pakistani political players across the board.

"Look, most of the people in Musharraf's party came out of Nawaz's party," the official said, referring to Sharif and speaking on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities. While he acknowledged that an alliance between Sharif and Musharraf was unlikely given the long-running enmity between the men, he added, "I wouldn't predict anything in politics."

Foreign policy analysts and diplomats said that if there was one thing that Bhutto's assassination had made clear, it was the inability of the United States to manipulate the internal political affairs of Pakistan. Even before the assassination, the United States had limited influence and did not back Bhutto to the hilt.

"We are a player in the Pakistani political system," said Wendy Chamberlin, a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, adding that as such, the United States was partly to blame for Musharraf's dip in popularity. But, she added, "This is Pakistan. And Pakistan is a very dangerous and violent place."