Good luck to the next president

McClatchy reports that a new National Intelligence Estimate paints a grim picture of Pakistan as a nation on the verge of collapse: "A growing al Qaida-backed insurgency, combined with the Pakistani army's reluctance to launch an all-out crackdown, political infighting and energy and food shortages are plunging America's key ally in the war on terror deeper into turmoil and violence, says a soon-to-be completed U.S. intelligence assessment.

A U.S. official who participated in drafting the top secret National Intelligence Estimate said it portrays the situation in Pakistan as 'very bad.' Another official called the draft 'very bleak,' and said it describes Pakistan as being 'on the edge.'

The first official summarized the estimate's conclusions about the state of Pakistan as: 'no money, no energy, no government.'"

The story also notes that the NIEs on Afghanistan and Iraq also paint fairly grim assessments, including doubts about whether the U.S. will be able to redeploy troops from Iraq to Afghanistan any time soon. So much for McCain's assessment that victory is at hand and, perhaps, for Obama's pledge to withdraw most U.S. combat troops within 16 months of taking office.