Pakistan's capture of the second Taliban leader in recent weeks reflects their desire to have a voice in Afghanistan's affairs.
For years, the United States has been pressing Pakistan to do more to deal with the presence of Al Quaeda and the Taliban in Pakistan. Pakistan's help been limited, with its security service, the ISI, continuing to support the Taliban under the premise that some day the United States will tire of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan would want allies in Afghanistan.
But after much dithering, Barack Obama decided to "surge" troop levels and seek victory in Afghanistan. So Pakistan's calculation now changes, since accommodating America and working with our ally, Hamid Karzai, may now be the way Pakistan maintains its Afghan influence.
The left bemoaned the lack of allies supporting America. But they missed the key ingredient to securing support - the commitment of the United States to victory. Nations and groups want to ally themselves with the winner, not the loser. And until we demonstrated our intention to win in Afghanistan, others sat on the sidelines.
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