PAKISTAN ON THE BRINK - AT 8:42 A.M. ET:  We've been following this closely, and I've just gotten a note on the subject from terrific Renee Nielsen, who reported so well from Mumbai, India, during the terror attack there last year.  (Renee and her family are moving on to Riga, Latvia, and we'll be hearing from her.) 

Now the Taliban has spoken up in Pakistan:

ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Taliban militants said Monday their peace deal with the Pakistani government was ''worthless'' after authorities deployed helicopters and artillery against hide-outs of Islamist guerrillas seeking to extend their grip along the Afghan border.

A collapse of the pact would likely please Obama administration officials pressing Islamabad hard for more robust action against extremists threatening Pakistan's stability and U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan.

President Asif Ali Zardari called for more foreign support for cash-strapped Pakistan to prevent any danger of its nuclear arsenal falling into the hands of al-Qaida and its allies.

In another sign of mounting Western concern, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due in Pakistan for talks on topics including cooperating against international terrorism, the British Embassy said.

COMMENT:  Saying that "a collapse of the pact would likely please Obama administration officials" is, in my view, hopelessly naive.  It appears that the pact is being rejected by the Taliban, not the Pakistani government.  For the Tals it's two steps forward, one step back.  They could take over the country, which has an estimated 60 nukes.  That could make Iran a lesser issue.

We'll watch carefully.  As said here earlier, this could be the story of the year, bigger than the White House puppy.

April 27, 2009