Only a bit of time now until the Pakistanis capture Osama and tip the election to George Bush (Oh, will Teresa be peeved!).
So what is going on in Waziristan? Apparently a 10 day cease fire has been negotiated between the Pakistani military and the local tribal leaders. Under discussion, per the BBC:
Islamabad wants the tribesmen to hand over hundreds of suspected al-Qaeda fighters living in the area, but local tribal leaders have refused, saying the few foreigners living there are former mujahideen not involved in any militant activity.
The "Arab News" editorializes:
The cease-fire has given an opportunity for talks between each side in which one of the region’s two legislators has taken a prominent role. Islamabad has wisely taken the view that negotiations are more likely to bring lasting benefit than is continued fighting. These talks are, therefore, to be welcomed. Nonetheless, it would be wrong to set hopes too high. The likelihood is surely that the fighting will resume, if only because the foreign fighters have nowhere else to go. However, even if some of the tribesmen who have been sheltering and defending them can be persuaded to give up, the position of outsiders will become far more perilous.
And more here.
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