While the Taliban and those who think like them will be, at some level, present and a threat in their lands forever.

And the only people who can truly defeat and subdue the extremists militarily are the Pakistanis and the Afghans themselves, not a foreign military power.

The best the USA can do is to find appropriate ways to assist and support the host countries and their peoples in their efforts to have moderate forces and viewpoints gain favor over extremism among the general population. This is a heck of a lot more complicated than simply dropping shitloads of bombs on people, and requires an advanced understanding of their culture, history, economic interests, as well as diplomatic skills.

On the positive side, it's pretty obvious that Obama has a much better understanding of Muslims and Islamic culture than any past President before him. It's also pretty clear that Muslims around the world have a far great level of respect and admiration for Obama than any past US President. We can only hope that he will find the proper effective combination of military, economic, cultural, educational, etc. support programs and collaborate effectively with the governments and people of these countries in their struggles to modernize and allow moderate and positive forces to emerge as dominate in these nations.