While the capture of Mullah Baradar is great news for a raft of reasons (e.g., U.S.-Pakistan counterterror cooperation, Pakistani commitment to fighting the Taliban, a blow to Taliban morale and a set-back to its momentum), we must remember that the Taliban movement is bigger than just one individual.
The immediate issue is to gather as much “perishable,” actionable intelligence as possible that may lead to other take-downs of key Taliban leaders such as Mullah Omar, hinder ongoing or planned Taliban operations, and disrupt Taliban ties with other terror groups such as al-Qaeda.
— Peter Brookes, a Heritage Foundation senior fellow, is a former CIA officer.