Ultimately the Pakistanis will pay the steeper price in this war.

There are many anti-government subversive groups operating in Pakistan, like the anti-Punjab Balochs in the south, Lashkar-i-Jhangvi, the powerful Haqqani Network (HQN), the TTP, and others.

On behalf of the Taliban, these groups will conduct asymmetric and terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, causing large amounts of casualties and humiliating the ruling generals in Islamabad.

When analyzing this issue, here are some starting points or "generalizations":

~Afghanistan has never invaded another country
~This conflict is basically Pashtun versus Punjab
~The initial cross border skirmishes might have been over lucrative opium smuggling routes
~Pakistan is basically an army with a country
~The Taliban have become the Vietcong of SW Asia with decades of experience fighting each other, the Soviets, and then us
~Pakistan's army has much less combat experience than the Afghans, although their air force demonstrated capabilities against India

Board of Peace Chairman Dummkopf Trumpf stopped the war between "Albania and Azerbaijan."

The Taliban honored every deal made between the US and ISAF forces.

Local micro-arrangements were completed between the mujahadeen and ISAF forces.

"Take this 'development' money for the people in your district [please don't attack our guys].

The Taliban followed the code of Pakhtunwali.

When the Turkish government said they will eagerly stay to secure Kabul Airport after the US departure, the Taliban said no: "Although you are our fellow Muslims, you are foreigners. You must also leave."

Previously, the Turkish military suffered about a dozen casualties total in Afghanistan; mostly from a single helicopter crash.

The Turks understood this warning and left before the deadline.

Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan had been hiding Osama Bin Laden in Abbotabad, less than 100 miles from one of my locations.

In general, I would trust a Talib over a Pakistani official.

This trust would not apply to the powerful Haqqani Network (HQN), a cross-border Pashtun criminal organization that allies itself at times with the Taliban.