Pam Constable's review of "Reconciliation..."

Overall Pamela Constable does a reasonably good job in reviewing Benazir Bhutto's book published posthumously. She correctly identifies areas where Bhutto skimped. Altogether, I would say a charitable review. t

Bhutto's Words of Warning

By Pamela Constable,

a Post staff writer who has reported periodically from Pakistan since 1998

Although "Reconciliation" invokes lofty values and strives for an analytical tone, it reveals Bhutto's deep bitterness toward the military establishment that hanged her father and thwarted her at every turn. The book also glosses over her own controversial history during two terms in office, dismissing myriad corruption charges as part of the military's plot, failing to mention her initial support for the Afghan Taliban regime, and painting all attacks on her top-down political dynasty as assaults on democracy in general.

Most ominously and sensationally, she recounted the suicide bomb attack that almost killed her last October, pointing out details that led her to suspect official collusion -- street lamps mysteriously going dark, promised security measures missing -- some of which were repeated in the bombing that took her life 10 weeks later. The echo of her father's last days, during which he penned a memoir called "If I Am Assassinated," is almost too ironic to bear.

Despite its flaws of self-indulgence and omission, this book contains a larger truth. Islam does need to find its place as a moderate guiding force for millions of followers in the modern world, instead of being stolen by jihadists and written off as the religion of suicide bombers. The West does need to build bridges to Muslims around the world and counter fears of hegemonic crusade, instead of girding for a cataclysmic clash of civilizations.

Had she lived to lead her country again, it is doubtful that Bhutto would have been able to unite its fractured populace or curb the rising tide of Islamic militancy. She was too divisive and secular a figure, and too tainted by her past failures. Even her posthumous polemic offers only a few minor prescriptions for long-term policies at a time when Pakistan's stability is being violently challenged on a daily basis.

Perhaps, however, Bhutto's destiny was not to rule Pakistan, but to die for the cause of its unfulfilled, fast-dimming promise as a Muslim democracy.