--David Gergen, 360 ContributorThe brutal assassination of Benazir Bhutto will come as a shock but not a surprise to many leaders of U.S. national security. They have quietly worried about just this outcome since she returned to Pakistan a few months ago.
In fact, they have been deeply worried about Pakistan for a long time. A retired U.S. four-star general this past summer told a small gathering that I attended that he was concerned about Iraq but he was much more concerned about Pakistan.
What can the U.S. do? The Bush administration has it devilishly hard. Musharraf has apparently misdirected billions of our anti-terrorism dollars; he declared martial law against the fervent wishes of Condi Rice; he has allowed Islamic terrorists, probably Osama, too much of a free hand on the Afghan border; and now there will be well-justified suspicions that he failed to give Mrs. Bhutto adequate protection.
All of which is to say that Pakistan, like an immense number of other problems, will be awaiting our next president. Progress in Iraq has lulled us into a false sense in this campaign that domestic challenges outweigh those overseas. They don't.
Both will demand extraordinary leadership in the Oval Office. It would be great to have someone who is nice, likeable and yes, authentic, the qualities which everyone is talking about in Iowa. But at the end of the day, we also need someone who has the knowledge, judgment and inner steel to take on very tough times.
