Why do so many Pakistanis believe that Americans blew up the Marriot?

One could describe it as a conspiracy theory and one would not be far off. But the sentiment that the USA is trying to destabilize Pakistan -- and the Marriot was its latest volley -- is not confined to whacko websites or flashy tabloids.

Zaid Hamid is an erudite defense analyst whose weekly Sunday evening show on a Pakistani TV Channel has become so popular that its DVD recordings are selling like hot cakes. His analysis covers a giddy span of world history and geography from Free Masons and neo-cons to central bankers and the funding of the two World Wars. His thesis: Pakistan is a hurdle in the way of several USA objectives such as containing China, containing political Islam, protecting Gulf Oil routes and securing Israel -- thus USA seeks to carve up Pakistan.

Ahmed Qureshi, a TV anchor whose website is becoming increasing popular, expounds similar views while citing as evidence the establishment of 14 Indian consulates in USA-controlled Afghanistan along the Pakistani border which have become staging grounds for terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

The official Pakistan Government allegation that Al Qaeda was behind the Marriott blast is dismissed by Hamid, Qureshi, and their many votaries as the statements of "bought" politicians. An observer, who did not want to be named, stated that the script for destabilization was not a new one: "Strife by lawyers and civil society, and an inflammatory media, in an environment of high food inflation, extremes of wealth -- read the book 'All the Shah's Men'-- its all happened before with Prime Minister Mossadegh in Iran."

This perspective is of course not unique to Pakistanis -- it is widely believed in other Muslim countries like neighboring Afghanistan, and also in China, Russia and even Europe. Paul Joseph Watson of Prison Planet in "Why would 'Terrorists' Want to Decapitate Anti-USA leadership in Pakistan?" argues that it was definately not in the interests of terrorists to strike now -- at a time when USA-Pakistan relations were coming under strain due to USA incursions into Pakistani territory.

The implication of this perspective, with respect to the Marriott Bombing in particular and the general destabilization in Pakistan since March 2007 in general, is that rather than becoming more antagonistic toward the militants, Pakistanis are becoming increasingly wary of the intentions of the world's remaining Superpower.