INCREASING OPTIMISM? U.S. General Sees Success Even if Pakistan Doesn’t Act. “Lt. Gen. David Rodriguez, the No. 2 commander in Afghanistan, said Tuesday that the United States and NATO could succeed in the war even if Pakistan refused to shut down a lawless frontier sanctuary that militants use for staging attacks on forces across the border in Afghanistan. . . . The general’s assessment is the latest evolution in the thinking of American intelligence and counterintelligence officials, who have been long frustrated by Pakistan but say that the country’s inaction has produced at least one unintended benefit: The concentration of so many militants in North Waziristan makes it easier for American drones to hit them.”