Patrick Belton on Pakistan

Oxblog's Patrick Belton has a round-up and analysis of some recent developments in Pakistan. Since his analysis is good for the United States, I hope he's right, but I can't help but think that the single largest factor in Musharraf's decision to crack down on Islamic militants might be the fact they keep trying to kill him. If Osama bin Laden really is in the tribal regions of Pakistan, this crackdown increases the odds he will be captured. That would have more impact in the fight against al-Qaeda that capturing Saddam did in the fight against Islamic militants, but given the ways in which al-Qaeda is believed to have morphed the past two years still wouldn't be the sort of final victory the press may perceive it as.