You will recall that some weeks ago US forces were criticized for blasting a bunch of Taliban who opened fire on them and who turned out to be Pakistani tribal militia. UAV footage was released to back up the US claim. A whole bunch of Pakistani politicians got up and thundered in indignation over the event. I recall commenting on a post that maybe the politicos in Isalamabad were going to both give up practical control over the NWFP and stand on their dignity. And there were others who wrote that the trick would be figuring out how to fill the vacuum caused by or even abetted by Pakistani security forces without creating an open breach with those ever-sensitive politicians who are jealous about sovereignty they may be in no position to exercise.

But be that as it may, the key problem is how to clean up the Pakistani side of the border without a) escalating the level of operations severalfold; and b) driving the Taliban down into Swat and other points east until they impinge on the heartland of Pakistan. So far the approach has been to work through Pakistan, and maybe that’s like trying to push a wet noodle. In other words, the attack on the border post is a reminder of the shortcomings of the current levers that can be safely pulled. Something’s got to change. The question is what?