A reminder of the stakes from Lebanon

Every once in a while the view from elsewhere is a compulsory check on what is objective and what is not.

THE DAILY STAR of LEBANON looks at the WOT:

Unfortunately, despite its enormous military acumen and capability NATO has not, even after six years, succeeded in ensuring peace and security in Afghanistan. If anything, the Taliban show deeply disturbing signs of resurgence; Waziristan in West Pakistan appears to be slipping out of Islamabad's control (which was tenuous at the best of times).

The political goals and military objectives of the global war on terrorism, whether achievable or not, appear to be increasingly irrelevant.

The failure of NATO to achieve a recognizable "victory" over radical terrorist forces will have far reaching consequences for the region from the Mediterranean to the South China Sea, especially when this happens to coincide with the inability of the sole superpower, even after four years, to win the peace in Iraq.

There are already signs of a replay of the post-Soviet development of Islamic militancy and jihad now that it is clear that NATO and the United States are unlikely to win the war on terrorism. Hizbullah's semi-conventional war last year raining thousands of short-range rockets on the Israeli population is a recent example - in spite of the skillful performance of the Israel air force.

Meanwhile, America's withdrawal of the bulk of its military forces from an Iraq on fire can only add to the two-decade-old belief that Islamic militancy and jihad can defeat even a superpower.

Pakistan, which has been playing a major role in the war in Afghanistan, contributing to its radicalization and militancy, is itself facing a defining point in its turbulent history.

Are we yet prepared to do what it takes to win a war?

The shortest route to a caliphate lies in the safety of the haven in Islamic emirate Waziristan WE have granted, and thus the ultimate overthrow of Pakistan's govt, by forces of, or sympathetic to the MMA, who will with a wink and a nod, or OVERT compliance BECOME the Taliban, and INSTANT nuclear jihadi land, like Iran, convinced of the ascendancy and power of MURDER as if it were religion.

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