As the news comes down the wire faster than a person can read it, I too have been asked by Dennis to guest blog in his absence. In my regular day-to-day life, I am an avid watcher and listener to all things news related.

When I post for Dennis, I actually get the chance to dig into news stories deeper, which I appreciate. And so is the case for this story that I’ve been watching for a few days now. I have to say I have not heard much about it on talk radio, but we have our own crises here at home to focus our attention on. This story is a big tangle of natural disaster and militant disruption.

Pakistan floods 'kill 800' people and affect a million

The worst monsoon floods in living memory have killed at least 800 people and affected one million in north-west Pakistan, a local official has said. The government declared a state of emergency as Pakistan's meteorological department said 312mm (12in) of rain had fallen over the last 36 hours in the north-west - the largest amount for decades.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10826105

This flooding happened in the Swat Valley region in Northwestern Pakistan, an area with 3+ million people. This posting was on July 31st.

Today’s report is much grimmer for the country of Pakistan. It seems that the death toll is higher, and the monsoons are traveling south. The prognosis for the country’s vast crops is not looking good.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/04/pakistan-flooding-punjab-rain

The loss of farm produce has led to UN warnings of serious food shortages, and the World Food Program estimates that 1.8 million people will need to be fed over the next month.

But still, it gets more serious. It seems that the unpopular government is not performing emergency relief for its people fast enough, and the Taliban is there to fill the gap.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/7922152/Pakistan-floods-flood-stirs-anger-at-government-as-death-toll-hits-1200.html

Widespread anger poses a serious threat to the already struggling government, which is now competing with Islamist movements to deliver aid to the north-western Pakistani region which already has a strong Taliban presence

It would appear that militant groups are taking advantage of the unpopular government and providing much-needed food and water to the desperate people there. It also does not help that the also unpopular president Asif Ali Zardari went ahead with his scheduled visits to Europe while leaving his country in dire straits.

Of course we have stepped in to offer millions we don’t have in aid to Pakistan, because we have a vested interest in keeping things calm there. But with millions starving in the near future, how much aid can any government really provide right now? The US certainly doesn't have stockpiles of money to keep an entire country afloat for the forseeable future.

At the same time the floods are ravaging the country, there have been suicide attacks in a city close to the flooded region, coordinated by militants, and unrest and deaths in Kashmir.

If we tie in previous posts by Dennis, we can indeed see how serious this situation is. Here’s a few of them:

http://thetrumpetblows.blogspot.com/2009/07/armageddon-alarm-bells.html

http://thetrumpetblows.blogspot.com/2009/05/dangerous-times-in-pakistan.html

The potential for these militants in Pakistan finding the weapons they so desperately seek seems much higher when the whole country is in chaos. Fuel that chaos with the citizens’ unhappiness with their current administration and we may be looking at some difficult times indeed.