Smoke on the horizon

Urgency In Pakistan
Taliban-al-Qaeda Alliance Grows Beyond 200,000 Men With Eyes On Islamabad

By Steve Schippert

With the Taliban-al-Qaeda alliance fortified, well-established and growing in North and South Waziristan, the North West Frontier Province and several other Pakistani territories, one of the most welcomed possible developments in the ongoing war against the terrorist allies would be an actual strike on their positions by Pakistan itself. But for reasons that include Musharraf’s weakened position among his own military commanders and a hope against hope that he can stave off an all out Taliban-al-Qaeda offensive, insurgency or coup attempt, this is unlikely to happen, either in this instance or in a consistent, assertive Pakistani drive.

excellent analysis of  simmering trouble in Pakistan....Read it all