The focus of attention is now on Waziristan - that would be North Waziristan and South Waziristan. These are little pockets known as 'tribal areas' between Afghanistan and Pakistan. They sort of belong to Pakistan, but the truth is, they belong to nobody. Like some of the Mayan regions of Central America, there are places that have never signed a peace treaty with anybody. They don't recognize any sovereign government. They have never been conquered by any of the conquering armies of the region in all of history.

The Waziristan councils have recently been taken over by Taliban and presumably Al Qaeda fighters fleeing Afghanistan. The numbers have overwhelmed the small tribal rulers, who have been forced to give up their power to their distant cousins. Now the Afghanistan and Pakistani armies are moving in and it's starting to get real messy.

The other day a courier was picked up on the road from Waziristan to Kandahar with a letter from Al Zawahiri (amongst other messages).  They've found some rather impressive arms caches near the border in recent days. Musharef has given an ultimatum - get out or die.

But there's no place to go. The freedom-loving and fiercely independant Waziristanians are about to find themselves in the nexus of global conflict. Squeezed in by armies on both sides, terrorized by the Taliban in the middle. No place to run. No place to hide. Expect the situation to get a lot nastier.