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(2) Pakistan is a powder keg. Much more dangerous to try to control than Iraq, and you see how difficult Iraq has become. The Paks have nuclear weapons. Musharraf is always hanging onto power by a thread. The alternative to Musharraf would be an Islamic fundamentalist government (think Taliban).

Also, the tribal regions where Bin Laden went are the wildest, most impenetrable topography in the world. Beyond the imagination to conceive of unless you were there to see for yourself. But the locals do know the land. And they support Bin Laden with their lives and everything they have.

Understood. But, we would not be trying to control Pakistan. Musharraf seems to have at least some kind of hold on the stability of that country. And since Musharraf's troubles are coming from the same people that are loyal to Bin Laden, couldn't he benefit as well by allowing our troops to assist him? Or would more of the country turn on him if he allowed our short-term presence? I at least gotta think that we are doing covert missions inside Pakistan to look for him.

Also, if that country is indeed a powderkeg WITH nukes, AND they are harboring the Taliban and perhaps Bin Laden if he still exists, why didn't we go into Pakistan AND THEN Iraq? There has to be a bigger reason why we didn't go into Pakistan. China' possible intervention or something.

That Pakistan is a powder keg with nukes seems to make you think we SHOULD have gone in.

My point is for THAT very reason we did NOT want to go in. Musharraf could be ousted at any second, I think we believe. If ousted his replacement would be Taliban with their hands on nukes.

Pakistan has a huge population, mostly radicalized young people “educated” in the Madrassas. It would never remain just a war between our soldiers AND the tribal region and bin Laden. The whole of the country would freak out if we were KNOWN to be in that country causing HECK for the jihadists and tribesmen who are hosting them.

Also, we haven’t always thought we knew where bin Laden disappeared to after Tora Bora. It was quite a bit later that we seemed to settle on Waziristan. We didn’t have a trail on him as he fled Tora Bora...if we had, we would have taken him out with a drone hellfire missle.