“Pakistan is the time bomb. But with a push from Cheney, abetted by too many Democrats and too many compliant journalists, we have been distracted into drawing the wrong lessons, embracing the wrong answers. …

“What we need to be doing instead, as [author Ron Suskind] put it, is to ‘build the thing we don’t have — human intelligence. We need people who are cooperating with us, who step up and help, and who won’t turn away when they see things happening. Hearts and minds — which we’ve botched — must be corrected and corrected quickly. That’s what wins the battle, not going medieval.’”

The question in my [Ethan's] mind is: Is it too late to “correct hearts and minds” in Pakistan, as Ron Suskind is awkwardly putting it? Is it still possible for the US to regain the trust and cooperation of the Pakistani public?