Mind you, we managed to pound down our enemies in Iraq despite limited safe havens in Iran and Syria for our enemies. But it does make things difficult and does increase the long-term threat. So I'm not saying it is necessary to defeat the jihadis inside Pakistan.
But it would sure help. Pakistan has long resisted going after the jihadis in North Waziristan, believing that they could keep some of their jihadis tame in the service of Pakistan. That's a fool's bargain, of course.
Have we convinced the Pakistanis to finally go after this sanctuary?
Residents of Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun region of North Waziristan accused government troops on Monday of killing dozens of civilians during a military operation against Taliban insurgents.
The operation started just after a December 18 suicide bomb attack on a checkpoint in North Waziristan, a stronghold for al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants on Pakistan's mountainous border with Afghanistan.
Speculation that the army might launch a major offensive in the frontier tribal areas has been building as the government's attempts to engage the Pakistani Taliban in peace talks have floundered in recent months.
Is this tit-for-tat or the start of something serious?
Is this the Pakistani half of the operation against jihadis that we helped Afghans carry out in Regional Command East as a substitute for an American-led offensive in that part of Afghanistan?
I've gotten my hopes up over signs that Pakistan might actually rub some brain synapses together regarding their pet jihadis only to have them dashed again and again.
If this is real, I will enthusiastically tip my hat to the administration that understands that the war against these jihadis has to go on whether we are in the lead, or not.
But then, I'm a Detroit Lions fan, too. I'm hopeful that way.
