Could Pakistan's horrible miscalculation in negotiating with the Taliban in the now besieged Swat Valley be a blessing in disguise for the United States?

It was three months ago that Islamabad cut a deal with the Taliban -- a truce, if you will -- that allowed parts of the North West Frontier Province to be governed by the strict, actually draconian, tenets of sharia law.

The goal, supposedly, was to contain Taliban terrorists. As events of recent weeks have shown, negotiating with terrorists never is a good idea. Give a terrorist an inch and he soon wants a country.

But there is a curious side story to all of this. The New York Times reports that al-Qaida appears to be redirecting its focus from terrorist attacks against the West to exploit the turmoil in Pakistan "to sow chaos" and bolster its standing in the region.

And while that makes for a safer United States in the near term, it only adds to the volatility of Pakistan and could result in an even greater threat to the U.S. in the future. U.S. intelligence officials say "mini Afghanistans" could emerge that will serve as a magnet for terrorists and result in a mega planning center for renewed attacks on the West.

But having the Taliban and al-Qaida so concentrated in one region does provide an opportunity for their elimination. Hint, hint.

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