"The [Pakistan] government announced Monday that it would accept a system of Islamic law in the Swat valley and agreed to a truce, effectively conceding the area as a Taliban sanctuary and suspending a faltering effort by the army to crush the insurgents.
The concessions to the militants, who now control about 70 percent of the region just 100 miles from the capital, were criticized by Pakistani analysts as a capitulation by a government desperate to stop Taliban abuses and a military embarrassed at losing ground after more than a year of intermittent fighting. About 3,000 Taliban militants have kept 12,000 government troops at bay and terrorized the local population with floggings and the burning of schools."
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20090217/ZNYT03/902173014/-1/OPINION?Title=Pakistan_Makes_a_Taliban_Truce__Creating_a_Haven
In other words, the Taliban has conquered, will retain control of, and will impose their strict medieval version of Islamic law ("floggings and the burning of schools") within a large swath of Pakistani territory.
Does anyone think the Taliban will be content with control of this one region? or, that we can stop the Taliban from extending the areas under their control?
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