The White House believes that Scotland Yard will "do an excellent job" investigating the assasination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last week, the president's press secretary said this afternoon.

Less than an hour after it was announced that the British police agency would look into the details of who killed Mrs. Bhutto, the Bush administration signaled their support for the move.

"We think that that's appropriate. We welcome that. They have expertise in the area of investigations of this sort," said White House press secretary Dana Perino. "And what's most important is that they proceed quickly and in a transparent and comprehensive way so that the people of Pakistan can get the answers that they deserve."

Mrs. Perino said she did not know if Scotland Yard had requested any help from U.S. law enforcement or intelligence services. The Pakistani government did not request any such help.

-- Jon Ward, White House correspondent, The Washington Times