Taliban Fighters Void Second Truce in Pakistan

For the second time in two months, a truce designed to curb militancy in the tribal areas of northwestern Pakistan was declared void this weekend by Taliban fighters.

The apparent collapse of the deal in the restive South Waziristan area followed the scrapping of a similar deal in neighboring North Waziristan in July, and comes as there are escalating tensions in both areas. On Sunday, the Pakistani military reported killing 15 insurgent fighters near the town of Mir Ali in North Waziristan.

Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, had focused on the peace deals as a way to combat rising extremism in his country without relying on military force. But the cease-fires had come under intense scrutiny from critics who said they amounted to capitulation to the fighters.

The collapse of the South Waziristan deal intensifies pressure on Musharraf, who is struggling to remain in office, to come up with a new strategy.

There is bascially a war within Pakistan between these Islamic fighters and those loyal to Pervez Musharraf. There have been numerous assisination attempts on Musharraf and should one be successful you will be looking at a Pakistani government very hostile to United States interests with nuclear capabilities. That is the worst nightmare of the American government.

The question should be how did we get here? The simple answer is the war in Iraq. Had we not removed most of our military from Afghanistan this precarious position in Pakistan may very well have been avoided.