HOW DO YOU TRUST THE TALIBAN? The entire U.S. strategy in Afghanistan hinges on the idea that the Taliban can be compelled to negotiate a political settlement to the 17-year war, and U.S. diplomats have even had some preliminary talks with Taliban representatives and issued cautiously hopeful statements. But yesterday’s brazen attempt to assassinate Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, and its success in killing Abdul Raziq, the powerful police chief of Kandahar, and two other local Afghan officials have cast a shadow over the “peace process,” to put it mildly.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, speaking to reporters traveling with him in Singapore, called Raziq “a patriot,” and said his death was “a tragic loss for Afghanistan,” but insisted “I don’t see it having a long-term effect.”