Al Qaeda or the Taleban: What's the Real Story?

With Benazir Bhutto out of the picture, there is speculation as to who could be responsible.

According to Reuters:

Pakistan has "intelligence intercepts" indicating that al Qaeda was behind the killing of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, the Interior Ministry said on Friday.

Former prime minister Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack as she left an election rally in the city of Rawalpindi on Thursday, plunging nuclear-armed Pakistan into one of the most serious crises in its 60-year history.

"We have intelligence intercepts indicating that al Qaeda leader Baitullah Mehsud is behind her assassination," ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema told a news conference.

On the other hand, according to CNN:

U.S. officials suspect a Taliban leader from Afghanistan may be behind the plot to assassinate former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a senior official said Friday.

The official identified Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud as a leading suspect, saying there's "good information that leads us to believe he is the guy responsible."

What is clear is that both governments are using this unfortunate event to remind us that the War on Terrorism is necessary. What they don't tell us is what is more troubling. What was the role of the Musharraf government in protecting Bhutto? What was the role of the US? Both had a vested interest in her protection given the recent state of emergency in Pakistan called by Musharraf.