ARTICLE: Taliban Leader in Pakistan Is Reportedly Killed, By PIR ZUBAIR SHAH, SABRINA TAVERNISE and MARK MAZZETTI, New York Times, August 7, 2009

This is why drones are good.

And as much as everybody, including me, praises McChrystal for "getting it" on counterinsurgency, doing that well doesn't obviate the mafia-style warfare that still must be waged against the Taliban/al Qaeda leadership (meaning we target them aggressively and unceasingly).

It is the most important aspect of the "clear" strategy in my mind, because it keeps the enemy's leadership in a flux and progressively downgrades talent (give me A.J. over Tony Soprano any day). Granted, all "clearing" and no holding-to-build yields little permanent gain, so McChrystal "getting it" is huge, given his strong kinetic background (and accomplishments).

But note that the "clearing" stuff is not your typical Leviathan work (e.g., mass bombardment from on high), but a much more discrete and focused sort of warfare that the SysAdmin force, in my mind, has to make part of its normal capacity.

I know, I know. It's all arcane "theory." Except it's happening across the board. The Army and Marines are clearly moving in the SysAdmin direction and the Navy and Air Force are clearly covering the Leviathan hedge.

Doesn't mean we see complete bifurcation, but it does mean a long-term struggle over resources, and that's where Gates has been truly influential in his rebalancing efforts.