The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Story City

Hillary Clinton Friday called for an independent, international probe into Benazir Bhutto's murder, as the turmoil wracking US anti-terror ally Pakistan reshaped debate in the White House race.

The Democratic front-runner's intervention came amid rising criticism from the 2008 field of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Bush administration tactics in the war on terror and failure to neutralize Al-Qaeda. "We need an international, independent investigation into the death of Benazir Bhutto," Clinton said during a pell-mell campaign swing through Iowa, which kicks off party nominating contests on Thursday. The assassination of the former Pakistani premier was the kind of sudden, outside event with the potential to quickly roil presidential campaign plans, and revived the issues of national security and experience in the 2008 race.

An unanswered question was how the shockwaves would play out in the minds of voters in Iowa, which kicks off the party nominating season with caucuses next Thursday, and New Hampshire, which has primary elections on January 8. Bhutto's murder, and a story of its political impact, was splashed Friday across the only statewide newspaper in Iowa, but it was unclear if fallout would remain a key issue over the New Year holiday.

Veteran Republican Senator John McCain, among hopefuls taking the chance to bolster his national security credentials, earlier called for extreme care in US dealings with Pakistan.

"We want to do everything we can, but it has to be practical and it has to be achievable, and it has to be not opening another front in a war that we are overstressed with today," McCain said on Fox News. The former Vietnam war hero called for looming Pakistani elections to go forward, though he said it would be tough for the opposition to coalesce around a candidate other than Bhutto.

McCain's Republican rival Mitt Romney raised doubts over whether Musharraf could keep a lid on political unrest.

"I'm not concerned about the quality of his character, but I am concerned about the quality of his judgment in a setting like this," Romney said, and dismissed suggestions foreign policy fears could bolster rivals with more experience on the international stage.