April 7,2008: The Taliban have patched up differences with Pakistani tribal leader Jalaluddin Haqqani. This guy has not been heard from for several years, since his dispute with Taliban leader Mullah Omar. Jalaluddin Haqqani leads the Haqqani Network, a group of Islamic terrorists operating in the Pushtun tribal areas along the Afghan border. He was a major player during the 1980s battle with the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. He joined the Taliban in 1995, and became a senior official. But in the last few years, he fell out with Taliban Mullah Omar. Since then, Haqqani has been in negotiations with the Afghan and Pakistani government, but apparently these have failed, as he now pledges allegiance to Mullah Omar.

The Taliban are apparently following the advice of Jalaluddin Haqqani, and concentrating more on terror attacks, than in trying to control territory. This is a step back for the Taliban. But after disastrous losses in the last two years, the Taliban need to come up with some new tactics, or face even more embarrassing defeats if they launch another "Spring Offensive."