And over this winter, unlike past winters, we have been going on the offensive to seek out the enemy and kill them while they are trying to keep warm and prepare for the spring.
Keep in mind that these enemy surges are temporary and that the last one was bigger not because we are faltering in Afghanistan, but because Taliban recruited in Pakistan were sent to be slaughtered. And this happened not because Pakistan is looking the other way, but because the Pakistani intelligence service has ramped up their support for the Taliban:
The recent capture, in Afghanistan, of Taliban communications director, Abdul Haq, has led to some embarrassing revelations. Haq, who has held his job for about 14 months, admitted that the recent increase in Taliban activity was facilitated by Pakistani intelligence (the CIA-like ISI). Pakistan has long denied this, but then they have to do that. ISI is an organization that has long been tainted by the disease (Islamic radicalism) that it is assigned to control. Very curious situation, but the same could be said of Pakistani politics in general.
Pakistan is a net asset in the war on Islamist terrorism. But sometimes it seems like a close call.
