BIG TROUBLE IN PAKISTAN - AT 7:49 A.M. ET: We keep hearing, and it is correct, that Pakistan is key to our problems with extremism in South Asia.   Instability in Pakistan is a major danger.  Pakistan has nuclear weapons, and, should these fall under the control of Islamic insurgents, our problems will increase geometrically.  Now there is a new incident.  From London's Telegraph:

Dozens of Pakistani policemen are being held hostage in Lahore after gunmen stormed their training camp, leaving about 60 dead.

Gunfire is echoing around the outskirts of the city and fighters are positioned on rooftops, firing at security forces in the streets below. The latest attack in Lahore bears a strong similarity to the assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the city earlier this month.

Earlier, loud explosions were heard from inside the police compound on the outskirts of Lahore where about 25 gunmen fought their way in with assault rifles and hand-grenades...

...The latest incidents in Lahore, the capital of Punjab, appear to show that Islamist insurgents are extending their influence across Pakistan.

COMMENT:  This comes just after the president announced his new plan for the Afghan/Pakistan region.  Will it affect the plan?  There is an old military saying that all war plans are out the window on first contact with the enemy.  I suspect there'll be many plans before this fight is over, and surveys show that the American people are tiring of our presence in the region.  Big problems ahead.

March 30, 2009