CRISIS IN PAKISTAN – AT 8:24 P.M. ET:  I noted earlier today that one of the effects of a weak economy is to divert attention from foreign threats.  Add to a weak economy the focus on an upcoming election, and attention is diverted even further. 

Which brings us to the crisis with Pakistan.  Washington is now open about charges that parts of Pakistan's intelligence agency are working with the Taliban.  And there have been attacks on NATO convoys in Pakistan this week, convoys that bring supplies to allied forces in Afghanistan.  Further, Pakistanis are angry at the U.S. over drone strikes within its borders.  But Washington justifies the strikes on grounds that they're aimed at Al Qaeda.  From Fox News:

The Pentagon acknowledged Thursday that some parts of Pakistan's intelligence agency are cooperating with terrorist groups as a new report suggests Inter-Service Intelligence agents are working to undermine U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

Spokesman Col. Dave Lapan said the Pakistan intelligence service as an organization does not support terrorism, but some elements within the ISI are providing assistance to terrorists.

U.S. officials have raised concerns about whether some members of the ISI "might be interacting with terrorist organizations in ways that aren't consistent with what the government and military are doing," Lapan said.

Lapan was responding after a report in The Wall Street Journal that suggested the ISI is pushing the Taliban to keep fighting in Afghanistan, undermining efforts by the Pentagon to end the war.

The Journal quotes an Afghan commander in Kunar province who said the ISI is still urging and paying Taliban to fight NATO soldiers.

Pakistan possesses nuclear weapons, and the security of those weapons is a major concern for the U.S.  Clearly, our relations with Pakistan are deteriorating, and the country is, just as clearly, a major base for terror groups. 

If Pakistan becomes unstable, and slips under the control of radical elements, our effort in Afghanistan will almost surely fail.  This is a major story, which would be getting more attention had we not been involved with the electyion.  But watch it grow once the election is over.  Pakistan, plus Iran, will determine whether Barack Obama is a clone of Neville Chamberlain, or something much better.

October 7, 2010