Pakistani government caves to Taliban in provincial territories.

Not even a month into the Obama presidency, one of our allies in the ongoing war on terror, Pakistan, has recognized the Taliban rule in the northwest frontier area known as Swat Valley.

Apparently, the new government in Pakistan is tired of fighting the extremists, and did this in the hopes that the Taliban will bring peace to the region.

From CNN.com:

“But now that the Pakistani government has recognized Taliban rule in the region in exchange for a temporary cease-fire.”

Obama’s and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first test is not going to be appeasing and patching relationships in Europe and Asia. Dealing with the appeasing of the Taliban by new government in Pakistan is going to be their first test.

Under President Bush, the US was operating covertly in those areas of Pakistan. The Pakistanis didn’t like it too much, so we scaled back our operations. And now the Taliban has a new base of operations.