Richard Holbrooke, President Obama, Sec. of State Clinton (Photo from Foreign Policy Blog)From The Christian Science Monitor:
The US special envoy told allies at the Brussels Forum that the Talibanization of the region was a top concern.
BRUSSELS - Ahead of a key April 2 NATO meeting – and Barack Obama's first presidential trip outside North America – US special envoy to Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke says that western Pakistan presents the chief problem in resolving an eight-year war that has divided allies and threatens the standing of an alliance ready to mark its 60th anniversary.
The Talibanization of west Pakistan, in the Swat region that borders Afghanistan, was the greatest surprise to envoy Mr. Holbrooke on his first fact-finding mission to the region last month. It was the top issue he relayed to Mr. Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and National Security Adviser Jim Jones, Holbrooke told the Monitor on the sidelines of the Brussels Forum, a security meeting here.
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My Comment: Western Pakistan is just one of many components in the AfghanPak war. If the Taliban can be booted out of the region (which I doubt), it would make the war in Afghanistan more easy to manage.