This is why some of our troops are getting shifted to Afghanistan, right? Al-Quaeda in Iraq is down for the count, Mookie’s boys have been smacked down, we have a breather for a while, time to mend fences in Afghanistan.

For wretchard, I would say that haing the Taliban “impinge” on Pakistan is worrying about the open barn door. The Taliban has many supporters & allies in the Northwest Provinces. Based on some of the past news reports, the tribal areas are Talibanistan, since the tribes emphasize kinship & religious ties over national & political ties. Pakistan is having a difficult time redressing this situation because many important figures on the Pakistani national level support the Taliban for their own reasons. It bears remembering that Al-Quaeda is supported by wealthy & influential Saudi Arabs, so the Taliban has the support of wealthy & influential Pakistanis.

The Obamessiah has said before that he would support an invasion of Pakistan to clear out Taliban positions. Even though he promptly got the raspberry from a lot of us on this, he (or McCain) may yet be called upon to do just that. Without shutting down the Taliban bases in the tribal areas, Afghanistan will in truth become another Vietnam, as we play by rules that the enemy has no reason to follow. Rather than kill & kill illiterate Pathan tribesmen until we get cross-eyed, how’s about attacking the problem at the source? Of course, that ultimately means interference in Islamabad….