The Taliban's Deadly Advantage

The Taliban has, for all intents and purposes, ceased to distinguish the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, while the United States must continue to observe it. That spells a distinct disadvantage for the 20,000 new troops President Obama has ordered to the region. One Pakistani logistics technician for the Taliban described for The New York Times “a Taliban strategy that relied on free movement over the border and in and around Pakistan, ready recruitment of Pakistani men and sustained cooperation of sympathetic Afghan villagers.” Pakistan’s government, meanwhile, abandoned its truce with the Talban in the Swat Valley after militants attacked an army convoy. So far, that’s not going too well: The Taliban seized the main town in Swat, Mingora, yesterday.