In the aftermath of the terrorist carnage in Mumbai, one thing is perfectly clear: Pakistan must understand that terrorism can threaten its own existence as state and that any supposedly support in past attacks will backfire.

A blurred Afghan-Pakistani border in the province of Balochistan can witness the foundation of a new state - with its capital city being Osama bin Laden´s headquarter – a strong and radical state which can provide terrorists with infra-structure, safety, financial support and the tranquility of the mountains for masterminding, training and launching new attacks, as well as an ideal environment to develop a dedicated and talented work force.

No matter where fingers point to: the so far unknown Deccan Mujahideen; any cell ideologically linked to or operationally supported by al-Qaeda; or the famous Lashkar-e-Taiba, allegedly backed by the powerful Pakistani ISI - Inter-Services Intelligence. Islamabad may be losing its grip on terrorist groups within its own territory.

Uncertainty will prevail for some time and this is precisely the most dangerous period: emotional mistrust can lead to conflict, but reasonable engagement can create a real opportunity to fight terror.

The fall-out from this ever-sensitive matter between nuclear India and Pakistan is all that the world did not need at this very moment. As such, the first thing Mr. Obama´s foreign agenda should address is to correct the biggest strategic mistake made by President Bush, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Rumsfeld and urgently displace military forces from Iraq to the “stan” region, so as to combat terrorism where it really is.

Obama´s honeymoon period and his “hit the ground running” approach call for fast and decisive action.