The War on Terror: Half Assed and Then Some

You have no idea how frickin' tired I am of blogging about the half-assed efforts of Pakistan's government and military to assist, if not lead, in the search for Osama bin Laden and his lethal lieutenants in the mountainous so-called no man's land on the border with Afghanistan.

The New York Times has a depressing update today.

Then there's the Bush administration's own half-assed efforts. No, I'm not overlooking the apparently successful CIA-directed missile strike in that no man's land on Jan. 13, but the fact of the matter is, OBL is still out there beating his gums when the mood strikes him. As somebody noted recently, the U.S. can put a man on the moon but can't track down America's Most Wanted after over four years of (sort of) trying.

The reaction to OBL's call for a truce in his audiotape last week has been appropriately negative, but let's not forget the big picture, which is nicely summarized by Bob P. at The Hue and Cry blog. Notes Mr. P:

Unfortunately, the plans and actions taken by the Bush Administration in response to this madman have left me very little to support. And the fact remains that this deadly fanatic who should be the focus of American anti-terrorist efforts has been ignored by our leaders in favor of their long-standing bloodlust for Baghdad.