In another indication of the gathering strength of the insurgency, Taliban militants have taken control of a gateway district close to the Pakistani capital. The district of Buner, home to almost one million, is just seventy miles from Islamabad and leads to speculation that the Taliban could be making plans for a move on the city. This increases concern that the government is unprepared to fend off the strategic advances of the Taliban. Now, U.S. officials are questioning the government's willingness to take on the insurgents. Both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have warned of the consequences, Secretary Clinton went so far as to call it an "existential threat". So is Pakistan fighting for its very existence?

To help us understand the Pakistani point of view of the Taliban insurgency and the government's reaction, we turn to Ambassador Munir Akram. Ambassador Akram was Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations from 2002-2008.

**UPDATE: Pakistani officials and international press outlets are reporting that Taliban militants have begun withdrawing from the Buner district.**

Watch Secretary of State Clinton's comments on the situation in Pakistan below.

In another indication of the gathering strength of the insurgency, Taliban militants have taken control of a district close to the Pakistani capital. The district of Buner, home to almost one million, is just seventy miles from Islamabad and leads to speculation that the Taliban could be making plans for a move on the city. This increases concern that the government is unprepared to fend off the strategic advances of the Taliban. The bold move comes ten days after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari agreed that strict Islamic law, or Shariah, would be the law of the land in the Swat region of Pakistan, as part of a deal to appease the Taliban. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton provocatively said she was concerned that Pakistan’s government was making too many concessions to the Taliban and emboldening the militants. For more on this story we turn to the BBC's Jonathan Marcus.

President Obama plans to announce an expansive new plan for Afghanistan in a speech at the White House this morning, committing thousands more troops and starting what's being called a "civilian surge." He told Congressional leaders that he'll set the first benchmarks for progress in fighting al Qaida and the Taliban. Obama's plan also reportedly intends to "recast" the Afghan war as more of a regional issue, involving Pakistan, India, China, Russia, and the United Arab Emirates. Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent for the New York Times, and Mark Mazzetti, defense correspondent for the New York Times, join The Takeaway for more on what's next in the region.

For more, read Thom Shanker's article, In New Afghan Strategy, Obama Will Add Troops in today's New York Times.

In an attempt to quell the fighting with Taliban militants, the government in Pakistan's embattled Swat Valley has agreed to allow the extremely conservative Sharia religious law to become the law of the land. When former Army Supply Sergeant Kristen L. Rouse heard that news she was very concerned. As someone who had served along the Afghan border and seen the brutality of the Taliban against people, even children, who violate the religious strictures she decided to speak out and write a letter to the New York Times. She joins us now as does Christine Fair, a senior political scientist at The Rand Corporation and an expert in Pakistan security issues, to discuss the latest developments in the Swat Valley.

Read Kristen L. Rouse's Op-Ed piece, The Children of Asadabad in today's New York Times.

Vice President Biden is in Brussels asking NATO for more troops to send to Afghanistan. The U.S. plans to infuse 17,000 troops in the months to come. In light of this, General David McKiernan, the commander of U.S. and NATO led forces in Afghanistan, said they are not winning the fight against Taliban insurgents in the southern part of the country. In a New York Times interview last Sunday, President Obama even admitted that the coalition is not winning in Afghanistan. Art Keller, a former case officer with the CIA who served in Pakistan in 2006, joins The Takeaway to talk about the situation. He has written an op-ed piece in the New York Times looking at America's policy in Afghanistan.

Our partner, the New York Times, has an exclusive story today on a secret American unit training the Pakistani military to fight al Qaida and the Taliban. To discuss the story and its implications, we are joined by Ahmed Rashid, a Pakistani journalist and author of Decent into Chaos: The U.S. and the Disaster in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia and Eric Schmitt, the New York Times reporter who wrote the article.

For more, read Eric Schmitt's article, U.S. Unit Secretly in Pakistan Lends Ally Support , in today's New York Times.

Here is Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke's interview on Charlie Rose clarifying the Obama administration's position on Pakistan and Afghanistan:

Pakistani government officials announced Monday that they have reached an agreement with the Taliban to allow strict Islamic law to be implemented in parts of North West Frontier Province. This move marks a major concession by the Pakistani government in its attempt to hold off Taliban militants who have made significant advances inside the country. For more on this development we turn to Haroon Rashid, correspondent for the BBC's World News Service.