Is Pakistan, Of All Countries, Winning the War on Terror?

In the latest of what seems like a real string of major developments in a war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, Mullah Abdul Kabir, said to be very influential in east Afghanistan, has been detained by the Pakistan government. Even though this reportedly took place several days ago, the American government says it still can’t confirm this for sure-even though the Times (by way of the impeccable Dexter Filkins) asserts it directly. Weird, right?

Certainly it makes one wonder further about the constantly re-fraying relationship between Pakistan and the U.S.

Coming on the heels of Pakistan’s arrest of Taliban honcho Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, this is a surprising turn of events in light of Pakistan’s, let’s say… conflicted ideas about how to handle leadership in the region.

And then there’s this, which we expect to hear much more about.

Hajji Zaman Ghamsharik, an Afghan warlord accused of helping Osama bin Laden escape from the Americans at Tora Bora, was assassinated by a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest. The bomber killed him and 14 others as they gathered at a ceremony to distribute land to returning refugees at a village in his tribal stomping grounds near the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad.

Um, what? Fascinating!