Why Hasn't the Pakistani Army Defeated the Taliban Insurgents?

It may be that the generals—or certain factions of them—have finally decided enough is enough. It's one thing to whip up the Islamists in order to pursue the military's own interests; it's another thing to let them close in on, or threaten, the regime.

Or it may be that the generals are doing just enough to keep the Americans sending military assistance. Pervez Musharraf played this game when he was president, cracking down on the Taliban in a few high-profile gestures but fundamentally changing nothing. This may be more of the same—combined with what may be a genuinely forceful signal to the Taliban leaders not to push their own ambitions too far.

It is significant, in this respect, that the military has so far done nothing to dislodge the Taliban from Swat Valley. Maybe it's one step at a time, or maybe pushing them out of Buner is the only step the army plans to take.

To do much more could, after all, forebode, or unintentionally lead to, a dramatic shift in the nature of Pakistan, from—as Haqqani put it in his book—an ideological state to a functional one. That may be more than anyone could hope for. But it may be the only way that a lasting, tolerable peace can come about.