Pakistan has decided it has done all it can with troops in the South Waziristan area of the border regions with Afghanistan and has withdrawn its checkpoints and most of its troops:

The Pakistani army announced Saturday that it would withdraw hundreds of troops from a tense tribal region near Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and his top deputy were believed to be hiding.

The withdrawals from the South Waziristan area come after several military operations by thousands of troops against bin Laden's al Qaeda organization and its supporters in recent months.

Although the Pakistanis claim that no trace of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri has been found, some still believe the terror masterminds to be hiding in that region. Pakistan, however, has alienated the local tribes during its missions to seek out and destroy al-Qaeda assets in the region, and this move looks like an attempt to mollify tribal chiefs and encourage them to assist with the effort against terrorism. Their track record suggests that the encouragement will fall on deaf ears.

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