1. the americans will have to go back to the drawing board and pick a new puppet. perhaps nawaz sharif's stock will rise?

2. musharaf will use this pretext to put more martial law measures into effect.

3. who knows how the riots will play out, or if they'll link up with an ambitious and/or bhutto-tied general or two.

al qaeda or islamic radicals would have struck at the general, not an out of power politician.