Some at the end of the tunnel

Some at the end of the tunnel

Buffalo News: Maybe the tide is turning. For the first time in years, the two American wars in the Middle East are trending in the right direction. The war in Iraq appears to be winding down, due to the work of both the Bush and Obama administrations, while the war in Afghanistan — against both the Taliban and al-Qaida — is showing signs of a decisive turn. For that, President Barack Obama gets full credit.

As Vice President Joe Biden fairly crowed, drone attacks in Pakistan are significantly up since Obama took office, as are their successes. Most recently, the brother of a senior Afghan Taliban commander was killed in a drone attack that narrowly missed the leader — killing his brother — even as Marines in Afghanistan seized a fortified Taliban compound in Marjah. Officials say several hundred militants have been killed since the beginning of 2009, including several high-placed ones. The attacks have ravaged the leadership of the Taliban in Pakistan.

Cooperation counts

New cooperation from Pakistani authorities is producing intelligence that leads to the attacks, but also to important arrests, such as that of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s second in command to Mullah Mohammad Omar. Baradar is talking, some reports say.

There is a huge caveat, though. As a mistaken attack on a civilian convoy just proved, it is absolutely essential to make sure targeting is accurate and civilians are protected as much as possible in combat with an enemy that doesn’t hesitate to use civilians as shields.

But there are real gains.