Like everybody else, I’m sifting through the various iterations of the Bhutto assassination. Knowing the Bush crowd as we do, I certainly consider them prime suspects because Bhutto’s death causes instability, and instability can be turned into opportunities for terrorisms and other such things to occur. Those events open the door for military interventions and wars, some of B/C’s favorite things.

On Friday the White House expressed confidence that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal remains secure. That struck me as odd. Of all places, how can they be so confident about Pakistan? The country has been in turmoil for years, terrorists hiding out in the mountains, evil nuclear scientists giving away secrets, a dictator at the helm, and so on. And it’s only gotten worse. So what is up with the confidence?

The White House on Friday said it was confident that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was secure and did not risk falling into extremists’ hands after the assassination Thursday of Benazir Bhutto.

“At this time, as far as I know, it is the assessment of the intelligence community that Pakistan’s weapons arsenal is secure,” spokesman Scott Stanzel told reporters near the president’s ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Stanzel did not say whether President George W. Bush, who is spending the remainder of the year at his Texas home, brought up the nuclear question during a phone call to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf yesterday.

But he acknowledged that it was a major topic of discussion between US and Pakistani officials amid fears of further instability in the wake of Bhutto’s death.

Stanzel said “there have been discussions” with army chief General Ashfaq Kiyani on “what we can do to help on the political and security front, while we’re having conversations with people throughout Pakistan.”

Ah. The White House is simply relying on the “intelligence community” to express this confidence. Of course, if something happens related to nuclear weapons in Pakistan, then the intelligence community will be proven wrong. And proving the intelligence community wrong about something so important could lead to all kinds of problems, none of which will be the White House’s fault. On the contrary, the White House will be forced to do something dramatic, perhaps flex some presidential muscle, be Decider-ish.

Watch out, intelligence community. I think you are about to be thrown under the bus.