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It's hard to believe, but tough men and women wearing body armor continue their quest for bad guys while the world focuses on the governor of Alaska.

US Special Forces entered Pakistan early Wednesday, and reportedly not in hot pursuit--they were in pursuit of something already there. This is the first time in awhile, perhaps so far, that ground troops have moved any distance across the border. News is sketchy at the moment, but the New York branch of the Pakistani government has some details, essentially reporting that our troops once again mistook women and children for enemy targets, as they have in every single raid since Bush took office.

Not sure they nailed anyone important but nevertheless this appears to be a bold statement made by NATO forces even if hidden during the Palin brouhaha (although there's no evidence it was coordinated). The Pakistani locals are reported to be outraged and are planning some kind of outrageous response, but these are the same folks who smile and wave to the Taliban as they foray across the border the other direction, so we'll see.

It might be interesting to see how Obama responds to this. One of his standard lines is that McCain won't pursue bin Laden in the cave where he lives, so if Bush gets UBL before November that would take away a one-liner but at the same time, people might also consider the war on terror won, which right or wrong could hurt the GOP.

MORE 9/5/08

Bill Roggio explains what we face along the border. It's troubling that Pakistan has allowed these thugs to entrench and grow in this area, and troubling that NATO forces have not been able to do more cross-border forays to stop it. But one thing is sure--Bush really wants to get either bin Laden or Zawahiri before leaving office.

And that's good of course, but if we're successful don't expect sweetness and light, especially if it occurs before election day because the political conspiracies will be wilder and more prevalent than Sarah Palin stories. Just imagine if we were to capture either one tomorrow. They would get transported to New York City for a public trial amidst a media circus. The left would be saying Bush timed the event to coincide with the election in order to bring terrorism and 9/11 back onto the front burner, displacing the economy.

But could Obama really join in that chorus? After all, he's been telling everyone who'll listen we've been neglecting Afghanistan and has chided McCain for not wanting to pursue bin Laden to the cave where he lives. It would be the contortion act of all time to watch him say capturing AQ 1 or 2 was only political.