Since the Bush administration lost its way five years ago in the war against the 9/11 terrorists by invading Iraq, Osama bin Laden and the Taliban have found a haven in the northwestern territories of Pakistan, near the Afghanistan border. Recent actions taken by the new democratic leadership of Pakistan give encouraging signs of a new effort against the terrorists, and the U.S. should respond accordingly.

Last month, President Bush authorized strikes by U.S. troops into Pakistan from Afghanistan. Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, called for such action more than a year ago, with or without Pakistan's approval, in cases of “;actionable intelligence”; of terrorist targets in the region.

Ideally, Pakistani forces would carry out the offensives, but anti-Taliban militias - called lashkars - have been poorly armed with aging rifles, while Taliban fighters have been equipped with rocket launchers and heavy guns. However, newly elected President Asif Ali Zardari this month arranged for the purchase of assault rifles and other small arms from China to better arm the lashkars.

The U.S. has spent more than $10 billion in counterterrorism assistance to Pakistan's military since 2001, but Americans are widely distrusted by Pakistanis. “;The Americans are not giving us a bloody cent”; for the new program of equipping the lashkars, a Pakistani official told the Washington Post. “;This is us, doing it ourselves.”;

Changes in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, which has been aiding terrorists, also are encouraging. The new government has replaced the head of that agency with a new chief who was to arrive in Washington this weekend for meetings with CIA director Michael V. Hayden.

Gen. David H. Petraeus this week becomes head of the U.S. Central Command, in charge of U.S. forces in the Middle East and South and Central Asia. He should regard coordination of military objectives with Pakistan's nonmilitary needs as essential for a new approach to be successful.