Accommodation of Terror

Pakistan has once again succumbed to Taliban atrocities and this time abandoned the Swat Valley to the draconian provisions of Sharia law. Pakistan already has proven to be an unreliable ally in the war on terror with one foot in each camp. The ISI, Pakistan's version of the CIA, was allegedly an early supporter of Osama bin Laden and instrumental in the creation of al-Qaeda. Pakistan has admitted harboring Kashmiri separatists and has recently acknowledged that the Mumbai massacre was planned on her soil with Pakistani extremists participating in the bloody attacks. Pakistan recently released the father of the Islamic-bomb and alleged mass-proliferator A.Q. Khan from custody. He is generally deemed responsible not only for Pakistan's acquisition of nuclear capability but of advancing both North Korea's and Iran's ambition toward atomic armament. Logic would dictate that when terrorists commit atrocity after atrocity and thwart good order in a region that government devote every resource to reversing terrorist gains. Pakistan has chosen to do the opposite and appease the Islamist menace in her midst. The West, indeed the civilized world, must make it clear to Pakistan that she can not enjoy status as a member of the community of nations and behave like a failed state, saying that government forces simply can not impose order in the Northwest territories near Afghanistan, can not control what is happening near Kashmir, and tolerate a terrorist haven under the guise of Sharia in Swat.