The Pakistani Taliban have lost their popularity. A year ago, when the government agreed to a truce with the Taliban in the tribal territories, 80 percent of the population approved. Until recently, most Pakistanis backed the Taliban’s support of the war in Afghanistan, against “foreign troops” and their “puppet government.” ...
But after the Taliban got their truce in the tribal territories, they proceeded to persecute the people they controlled to such a horrific extent that most Pakistanis were truly horrified. This despite the fact that the Taliban were acting just like the Afghan Taliban did in the 1990s, and the Iranian Islamic dictatorship has been doing for decades. Something snapped among Pakistanis, and now approval of the Taliban is under ten percent. Many Pakistanis (perhaps a quarter) still back the application of Islamic law to solve the country’s problems, but the actual use of these Islamic radical ideas is much less popular. Nothing like seeing this stuff in action (stoning women to death, banning video, music and dancing) to change your attitudes.
It was all fun and games when the victims were somewhere else. Now it affects them and it doesn't look nearly as appealing as it did on the jihadi snuff video you got on the Internet. This will help reduce the sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban that Pakistan is now, making our effort in Afghanistan possible.
Battlefield victories in Iraq and Afghanistan need to lead to a strategic victory in the minds and hearts of Moslems, or we'll be fighting the next wave of jihadi fervor in a couple generations. But then, they'll likely have nukes in their arsenal.
