State of the Taliban

Since the Presidential election earlier this month, I've seen several articles like this one on the future of the Taliban. I don't for a minute believe they decided not to disrupt the elections of their own accord. Now the United States and the Karzai government are in talks with Taliban representatives over participation in the Parliamentary elections. Furthermore, western military spokesmen maintain that serious disputes exist within the Taliban leadership. If that is true, look for a major push to locate Mullah Omar, whose influence is likely waning. Also, we need to pressure Pakistan to clean up their side of the border so that it no longer represents a save haven for attacks in Afghanistan and elsewhere.