In it she describes her vision of Islam as "an open, pluralistic and tolerant religion" which she claims has been hijacked by extremists. She quotes passages from the Koran to justify her position that Islam preaches tolerance and pluralism, which she had hoped to bring to Pakistan. She marks off Osama bin Laden as simply a religious fanatic, such as can be found in other religions, and sees no reason why Islamic countries and the West cannot cooperate. Historically, she blames the United States for helping overthrow the democratically elected government of Iran in 1953 which, she claims, "made generations of Muslims suspicious and cynical about Western motives."

While her stated ideal seems to be a tolerant and democratic society, she actually did not do well in achieving that goal when she twice served as Prime Minister of Pakistan and each time was expelled from office on charges of corruption which forced her into exile. At the time her husband was considered a principal culprit and spent eleven years in jail on corruption and murder charges which he claims were politically motivated.

Now, because of Bhutto’s assassination, her husband, Asif Zadari, leads her party and has struck a deal with Nawaz Sharif, who was once Bhutto’s enemy when he helped remove her from office during her first term as Prime Minister.

A clearly political move, the two joined in a coalition when their respective parties, The Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League, were the biggest winners in the general election.

So now the former disgraced husband of Benazir Bhutto is as the New York Times puts it "a kingmaker." He was allowed back into Pakistan and the charges dropped against him, as part of his wife’s arrangement for returning to Pakistan.

President Musharaff has no intentions of stepping down as president, but the opposition has named a new Prime Minister, former Speaker Yousaf Raza Gilani, a position he did away with, when he ousted Prime Minister Shorif, in a military coup. He also faces the possibility of having his reelection declared invalid, when the judges he fired are reinstated.

Which leaves the question, what is the United States, which backed Musharraff as an ally in its war on terror, to do now? Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger wrote in an Op-Ed article published in the International Herald Tribune that there is really nothing the US can do to alter the Pakistan political scene. "A wise policy must recognize that the internal structure of Pakistani politics is essentially out of the control of American political decision making." Musharaff’s future he suggests, is his problem, "not ours." There is little doubt that the coalition will try to remove him but they do not have the majority in parliament needed to impeach him.

An editorial in the New York Times suggests that the US should support moderate leaders who say they want constitutional democracy and the rule of law. US Senator Joseph Biden, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, proposed tripling non-military aid, for schools, roads and clinics to encourage the new government’s democratic course, to which Benazir Bhutto subscribed.