The American-NATO operation in Afghanistan, and the Pakistani measures across the border, had helped scatter the Arab, Chechen, and other foreign fighters of al-Qaeda to the corners of the earth, where their leadership was hunted down and killed; but the Taliban had nowhere to go—they were Afghans and Pakistanis—and, as they told these new technologically advanced foreign invaders from America and Europe, “You may have the watches—but we have the time.” They would wait out the foreigners no matter what was thrown at them, and in this they would be helped by elements in Pakistan.
