Republicans and conservatives are often accused of holding President Obama to an impossible standard and simply criticizing him for every decision he makes. It is not surprising that the GOP is opposed to many of the policy proposals of the president (similar to the Democrat's response to Bush), however when Obama accomplishes something in the War on Terror he deserves credit for that progress.
A recent push by Pakistan has resulted in the capture of the number 2 Taliban commander, another Taliban leader, a group of lower level leaders and then another major operative in recent days. While I could not pretend to know all of the background and closed door discussions that have went into these developments, it seems fairly clear that Obama has been able to convince Pakistan to tighten the noose on the terrorist elements camping out on their Afghan border region.
It would be hypocritical to chastise Obama for attempting to accept credit for the improvement in Iraq, while not acknowledging his contribution to the capture of these terrorist leaders.
Praising Obama is not impossible for a conservative like me. I honestly wish I could do it more, but that would require him pushing legislation and policies I support, which would lead him to alienate his natural supporters. I know this apparently shocks some liberals, like Keith Olbermann, but the vast majority of conservatives support or oppose the advancement of policies and ideas. It has nothing to do with Obama personally. On this issue, I'm grateful that Obama has been able to apply the needed pressure on Pakistan to see them step up their efforts on combating the terrorists within their borders.