Pakistan Needs to Step Up

Gee, we never saw this coming.

When Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf forged an agreement with the tribal leadership in the northwest border provinces in September 2006, observers in Washington were justly skeptical. Four months after the agreement was made, the concerns that Pakistani territory would become a sanctuary for Taliban insurgents have been realized, and Afghanistan has felt the effects.

A comparison confirms that the level of violence in Afghanistan is up: Armed attacks increased from 1,558 in 2005 to 4,542 in 2006. Suicide attacks also increased, from 27 in 2005 to 139 last year. The upsurge in violence predates the September peace accords, but even though the accords are not solely responsible for the increased violence, it's evident, even in the relatively short four-month span, that the deal has done nothing but exacerbate the situation.

Time to stop coddling and crack down.