For most of its sixty years as a nation-state, Pakistan has mattered little to Europe, except for Britain, the former colonial power. That changed in the 1980s when Pakistan became the staging area for the insurgency against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Since September 11, 2001, Pakistan has gained much greater importance, especially after NATO assumed responsibility for neighboring Afghanistan’s security. Today, a resurgent Taliban are using Pakistan’s rugged and unruly tribal areas as a base of operations against Afghanistan. Until Islamabad brings the Taliban under control, NATO will find it hard to defeat the insurgency and successfully accomplish its first mission outside Europe.