PAKISTAN SLIDES - AT 7:06 P.M. ET:  From London's Daily Mail:

Pakistan teetered on the brink of collapse today as Taliban fighters threatened to overrun the volatile country.

As violence broke out in the disputed north-west corner, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the state, which has nuclear capability, now posed a 'mortal threat' to the world.

'I think the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and the extremists,' she added.

Mrs Clinton's comments came as Islamabad was forced to deploy troops to protect key buildings and bridges.

COMMENT:  We've been cautioning Urgent Agenda readers to watch Pakistan very closely.  It could become the story of the year, and more.

Note the toughness in Clinton's comments.  We pointed out last night in The Angel's Corner that Clinton always sounds slightly to the right of the White House.  If a policy succeeds, no one will notice the difference in tone.  If it fails, she can always claim, though her "people," that she wanted to be tougher.  No fault foreign policy.

April 23, 2009