The news that the Taliban Islamic extremist group has gained control of a Pakistani province just 60 miles from the Pakistani capital sets up a nightmare scenario for President Obama and the nation.
The Taliban might have been completely defeated had the United States focused on the war in Afghanistan after September 11. Instead, President George W. Bush decided to intervene in Iraq and therefore was not concentrating on the Taliban threat, which is extremist in its views on women, education, and economic and social reform.
The fear now is that the Taliban might gain control of the Pakistani government, therefore putting the Taliban in charge of nuclear weapons. This could lead to a holocaust involving either India, its traditional rival, or the general area of the Middle East, and all of Western society with its Christian beliefs.
Secretary of State Clinton testified today as to the tremendous danger and concern that the administration has about the concessions made to the Taliban without consultation. Some predict that the extremists will indeed gain control of the central government of Pakistan within months, leaving President Obama with a challenge unmatched since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, and this nightmare scenario only complicated by the continuing antagonism that exists between Iran and the United States.
The Obama administration will certainly have sleepless nights worrying about what might happen in South Asia and how the US might have to react to it.