Earlier today, pro-Taliban militants in Pakistan's Swat Valley captured thirty hostages during an attack on a government security post. The attacks represent a further blow to the fragile peace agreement between Pakistan's civilian government and certain militant factions in the tribal areas and elsewhere.

The strike follows yesterday's meeting between Prime Minister Gilani and President Bush, Gilani's first official visit to the US as Prime Minister. Though the talks appeared to go well, Reuters aptly pointed out that

Gilani held talks with Bush hours after a suspected U.S. missile strike killed six people, possibly including an al Qaeda chemical and biological weapons expert, in a Pakistani tribal region. The strike underscored U.S.-Pakistani tensions that Gilani's visit was intended to dispel.

Here's the video:



In any case, things continue to look murky. Were negotiations a success or failure? Hard to say, especially given the number of militant groups and the US' public disapproval of that kind of engagement. No matter what, the daily incidents of major violence offer an ominous indicator of what lies ahead in the immediate future.




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