Recent reporting from Pakistan has discussed an impending peace accord between the Pakistan government and Taliban forces near the Swat Valley of the North West Frontier Province. A report from the Associated Press of Pakistan states that the agreement has been reached. (And now reported by Reuters.)According to the article, the agreement includes promises by the local Taliban to quit suicide bombings in the region, turn over heavy weapons, stop carrying small weapons in public, and assist the government in bringing humanitarian aid and stability to the region. Reportedly, the Pakistan army will begin a drawdown of the large force that it sent in to repel the Taliban/al Qaeda invasion of the Swat Valley last year. They will exchange prisoners.The terms of the agreement strongly resemble what many in the west considered a disastrous peace accord over Waziristan back in 2006. Many commentators at the time considered the accord to be nothing but a chance for the Taliban to regroup in...(Read Full Post)