Pakistan Update

There's trouble in Pakistan.

The Taliban has surged there, and the legitimate Pakistani government is on the ropes.  For a frightening visual representation of how the two sides stand, The Jawa Report posts this picture:


That's right - that tiny little green part is all that's still controlled by the government.

Part of the problem is that the government recently entered into an agreement where the Taliban could institute Sharia law if they would promise not to continue hostilities.  Coming as a shock to no one (except the Obama administration, the Pakistani government, and liberals everywhere, apparently), the Taliban took their land, instituted Sharia law...and also continued their hostilities.  Funny how Obama thought this Sharia-for-peace deal was a good one...right up until they didn't.  It's another sad chapter in the mega-thick tome of liberal ignorance when dealing with radical Islamics.

The DoD finally came out in support of direct action on the part of the Pakistani government, though seems to be resorting to mere hope for good results.  News flash: 'hope' is a fine campaign slogan, but action and force work much better in the real world.

One of the problems facing the Pakistani military is that the Taliban are using thousands of human shields.  Yessir, that's the religion of peace for you!  Anyway, the whole scenario is playing out in an incredibly dangerous fashion, and there is no guarantee that the government will be able to achieve victory.  In fact, some Pakistan watchers are already predicting the country will fall.

Why should you care about this?  Because Pakistan has nukes.

For an in-depth discussion of some of the key figures involved in keeping Pakistan's nuclear weapons and material secure, go here.

This is an extremely precarious situation.  If the Pakistani government cannot beat back the Taliban, and thus loses control of its nuclear armament, things could get ugly in a hurry for a lot of people.  The Taliban could use them, or they could sell them to countries like Iran, Syria, or Libya, who have been seeking such weapons for quite some time.  Even worse, these potential loose nukes could fall into the hands of terrorists groups like Al Qaeda, Hamas, or Hezbollah, who could quite easily get them into the United States and wreak massive damage.

Keep your eyes on this one.  It's a potential world-changer.

There's my two cents.