SteppeWolff
Trusted Member
There is no "paralysis". Action is being taken. What we don't know is the right quantum.
That will require calibration.
The Taliban are not doing a cost benefit analysis on the size of the airstrike. They are doing a cost benefit analysis on the probability of our response. Right now, because of our visible restraint, they calculate the probability of severe punishment as low. They believe they can absorb the 'quantum' of force we are willing to dispense because they know we are terrified of closing the door.
You want to raise the cost? Then shift the quantum from intensity to certainty. The most terrifying deterrent wont be the most powerful bomb. it would be the most predictable trigger. If the Taliban knew with absolute certainty that any cross border attack traced to Afghan soil would result in the immediate, public, and devastating destruction of a high value Taliban military asset (not just a TTP camp), the calculus would shift overnight.
We need to start calibrating the speed of the reflex. Let them see that the moment a Pakistani checkpoint burns, an Afghan HQ or a compound or infrastructure ceases to exist. That is a quantum they will understand.





