Commentary: Failing nuclear power

Few if any in the world write with such authority grounded in deep background, in the classical form and rigors of true political analysis and commentary, as Arnaud De Borchgrave, UPI editor at large.

This article is vital for students of the region, and for knowledge of the current and emerging challenges in Pakistan

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clipped from www.upi.com Emerging Threats - Analysis By ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE UPI Editor at Large WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Pakistan is one of the world's eight nuclear powers and the first one to be categorized as a failing state. Not failed yet, but on its way, and the world's major powers are powerless to correct the downward spiral. There is little doubt al-Qaida and the Taliban ordered Bhutto's assassination. They saw her and her plans as the biggest threat to their privileged sanctuaries in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that straddle the Pakistan-Afghan border. Over the past year Taliban guerrillas in three of the seven FATAs -- North and South Waziristan and Bajaur -- fought the Pakistani army to a standstill. Bhutto also talked to me, not for publication, about the Taliban in Afghanistan, which she considered a no-win situation for U.S. and NATO allies unless the Taliban and al-Qaida could be eliminated in the FATA tribal agencies.