A LITTLE REMINDER OF WHO WE'RE DEALING WITH - AT 1:28 P.M. ET:

(CBS/AP) Taliban militants armed with rockets, grenades and automatic weapons abducted at least 400 students, staff and relatives driving away from a boy's school in a northwest Pakistani tribal region on Monday, police and a witness said.

The brazen abduction came amid rising militant violence in Pakistan's tribal belt - actions the military says are partly aimed at distracting it from its offensive against the Taliban in the nearby Swat Valley.

Police were negotiating with the Taliban for the release of the captives taken in North Waziristan, said Mirza Mohammad Jihadi, an adviser to the prime minister. He said around 500 people were taken and that they were being held in the Bakka Khel area.

COMMENT:  The president will address the Muslim world from Egypt on Thursday.  Maybe someone, like an adult, should slip this story to him before he starts apologizing for our democracy.  Islamo-fascism remains a severe threat, especially with the potential spread of nuclear and biological weapons.  No outreach will change that.

June 1, 2009