Taliban Options Dwindling

As President Obama continues to take fire from both the left and right in the United States over his continuing delay on Afghanistan, an important victory has been achieved in what used to be called "the war on terror," and with little or no US military presence. Pakistani security forces have waged an offensive against the Taliban in the province of South Waziristan.
After a series of attacks by the Pakistani Taliban last week, it was appearing as if Pakistan may be unable to deal with threat inside it's own borders. The Taliban had bombed a number of government buildings in Islamabad, and some were even wearing Pakistani Army uniforms. But this week, Pakistan has struck back hard. Pakistan has captured the militant stronghold in town of Kotkai, home to Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. The situation in Kotkai has created tens of thousands of new refugees, and forced many of the remaining Taliban into the mountainous countryside. Already familiar with terrorist tactics and asymmetrical warfare, Pakistani officials are worried about new attacks on public places, and are acting quickly to defend themselves, according to Al Jazeera.
This comes as great news, not only to Pakistan, but also to Afghanistan and President Obama. One of the biggest questions going forward was, "is Pakistan willing and able to defend themselves against Islamic militants?" After today, the answer seems to be yes. Going forward, that may allow Obama to proceed with confidence in Afghanistan, knowing that the Taliban cannot simply flee across the mountainous border into more friendly territory. With the American military on one front and the Pakistani's on the other, they can squeeze the Taliban until they have no safe havens at all. Although the Afghan war has always been thought of as "the right war," support in the United States and our European partners is starting to dwindle. If we know that we have a true partner in Islamabad (and Kabul for that matter), perhaps we can deny Islamic extremist a base to plot against the West without having to double down on troops and resources in the region.