Middle East/Afghanistan Inside Line: Top Taliban Leader Captured?; Saudi Line on Iran Nukes

"Old Taliban" Number Two Captured? The Afghanistan Taliban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, has been captured in Pakistan in a joint raid by Pakistani and U.S. spy agencies, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said: "I would call it significant. But even when you get their leaders, they've shown an amazing resilience to bounce back. It's an adaptive organization." However, the Taliban denied the capture of Baradar and said he was still at work.

Saudi Line on Iran Nukes: Following a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said that they needed an "immediate resolution." He said:

Our talks also considered the Iranian nuclear issue. The Kingdom reiterates its support of the P-1+5 or the 1+5 group to solve the crisis peacefully through dialogue, and we call for a continuation of those efforts. We also call upon Iran to respond to these efforts to remove regional and international suspicions towards its nuclear program.

Sanctions are a long-term solution. But we see the issue in the shorter term because we are closer to the threat. We need immediate resolution rather than gradual resolution.