The Taliban's top military commander has been arrested in a joint CIA-Pakistani operation in Pakistan in a major victory against the insurgents as U.S. troops push into their heartland in southern Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the group's No. 2 leader behind Afghan Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar and a close associate of Osama bin Laden, was captured in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi, two Pakistani intelligence officers and a senior U.S. official said.
We grabbed him ten days ago, and it is claimed he's talking. We'd want to say that no matter what, at this point. But the long silence on his capture seems to indicate we did get some information.
Who knows? Perhaps the timing of the launch of our long-telegraphed offensive was based on his capture and perhaps information gained from him, knowing he'd not be able to coordinate the initial response to our offensive.
This is also another reminder of the importance of the Pakistan side of the border in our efforts to win our portion of the Taliban War inside Afghanistan.
