NEW PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT IS REALIZING THAT APPEASING TERRORISTS IS THE WRONG WAY TO GO

Unfortunately, their previous appeasement how shown their cowardice. And the terrorists know they are weak. I fear their new, more aggressive action, will be too little to late. You can't negotiate with terrorists when their goal is your death.

With Islamic militants tightening their grip around Peshawar, kidnapping residents and threatening the city itself, the new coalition government of Pakistan delivered its first military response to the Islamists on Saturday.

The action was limited, with security forces shelling territory outside Peshawar held by an extremist leader. Army forces were not used, and the intent apparently was merely to push the militants back from the city’s perimeter.

But the shelling was the first time the new civilian government, which has been committed to negotiating peace accords with Pakistani Taliban and other Islamic militants, resorted to military action.

In response, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, announced that he had suspended his participation in peace talks.

The peace talks between the Pakistani government, which was formed after February elections, and Mr. Mehsud, the Taliban leader, have been criticized by the United States and NATO, on the ground that an accord would grant the Pakistani Taliban time to strengthen their ability to strike at coalition forces across the border in Afghanistan.