Remember in " The " when Dorothy throws water on the witch and she shrivels up and dies, and then everything changes? Killing isn’ t quite the same thing as killing the Wicked Witch of the West, but it could be the pivotal event that winds up changing everything, especially in . I traveled to Afghanistan in April and spent 90 minutes in a one- on- one interview with Gen. . He explained to me how the " surge" strategy was working.

But I left the meeting scratching my head. Even if we were successful in defeating the on the Afghan battlefield, would it matter if the Taliban retained safe havens in ?

Or if the Karzai government remained too incompetent and corrupt to hold Afghanistan together after we left?

What I didn’ t know, and Gen. Petraeus did, was that we had located Usama Bin Laden and were about to take him out. And, if the operation proved successful, the would force Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Taliban to reassess their positions. The deal between the Taliban and was between and Usama bin Laden, not the organizations; they apparently didn’ t see eye- to- eye on much beyond that top level.

With Bin Laden gone, that personal connection is severed. With Al Qaeda weakened and in disarray, it' s the perfect opportunity for the Taliban to sever its ties with the terrorist group. And while the Taliban may have been unwilling to negotiate in the past, they might be willing to reconsider now that their momentum has been reversed, especially in the South.

The Pakistanis need to recalculate, too, especially now that they’ ve been caught red handed double dealing over Bin Laden. & # 160; If the United States can seize the moment, and tell the Pakistanis that they need to either help us with the Taliban or kiss U.

S. aid money goodbye, they might be amenable, especially if we remind them we could always start a closer strategic relationship with their arch- enemy India. Bin Laden’ s death, in and of itself, was significant. But, if we handle this opportunity correctly, his demise could also be crucial to ending the war in Afghanistan. Kathleen Troia " K. T. " Mc.

Farland is a Fox News National Security Analyst and host of Fox. News. com Live' s DEFCON3.

She served in national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations and wrote Secretary of Defense Weinberger' s November 1984 " Principles of War Speech" , which laid out the Weinberger Doctrine. Be sure to watch " K.

T. " every Wednesday at 2 p. m. ET on Fox. News. com' s " DEFCON3 already one of the Web' s most watched national security programs.

For more, visit .

The visitor center is the logical first stop at Colonial Williamsburg. Here you can park free; buy tickets; see a 35- minute introductory movie, ; and pick up which has a list of regular events and special programs and a map of the historic area.

Tickets . . . On the western edge of Yorktown Battlefield, the Yorktown Victory Center has wonderful exhibits and demonstrations that bring to life the American Revolution. Textual and graphic displays along the open- air Road to Revolution walkway cover the principal . . .

Residents in one Massachusetts community are outraged after the flags marking veterans' graves at a local cemetery were vandalized, apparently by metal thieves after the stakes for their the medallions that hold the flags. The thieves swiped copper or bronze medallions stakes from at least 18 graves at Mount Vernon Cemetery in Abington, Mass, cemetery superintendent John Burnett . “ It’ s all about the money. I know it for a fact, " Burnett told the newspaper, adding that the inscribed bronze medallions weren' t taken, presumably because any metal buyer would know they were stolen. The thefts were discovered by Elaine Harte, who was visiting her husband' s grave site last week.

She alerted authorities. " I think it is terrible to do this to those graves. These men fought for our country, " Harte told the Patriot Ledger, which reported that copper sells for about $ 3 a pound, bronze for about $ 2. 25. William Vegnani, chairman of the Veterans Memorial Trustees Committee, told the newspaper he was " totally livid" at the desecration of the veterans' graves. " I have been taking care of this place for 20 years, and I never took a dime for it, " he said. " Never mind that these veterans were my friends. " He said the cemetery has $ 600 to replace the old stakes with aluminum ones, which should be less attractive to metal thieves. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Dr. Phil on Divorce Whether you' ve been married for one, ten or 25 years, asking for a divorce is a big decision. One i. Mag viewer wrote in to television host, & # 160; on whether or not a divorce is right for her. & # 160; Dear Dr. Phil, My marriage has reached a breaking point and I’ m thinking of asking for a divorce.

What should I do? Dr. Phil: I think we get divorced too quickly in America. I think we sometimes say “ well I’ m not having fun anymore. ” The questions you have to ask yourself are “ Have I done everything I can to rehabilitate this marriage?

Have I looked under every stone? Investigated every potential avenue of rehabilitation? ” And if the answer is “ yes” then you will know because you will have no unfinished emotional business with this person. But if you’ re still angry, resentful or hurtful, then you have unfinished emotional business and you’ re not ready.

Earn your way out of a marriage, don’ t just quit because it’ s not fun anymore. For more relationship advice check out .

' Idol' Cuts 4 but Keeps Irish Crooner, & amp; apos; Idol& amp; apos; spares controversial Irish crooner, but makes 4 cuts in show& amp; apos; s first elimination round ' Idol' Cuts 4 but Keeps Irish Crooner. Friday, February 22, 2008By ERIN CARLSON, Associated Press Writer. E- Mail Print Share: Digg Facebook Stumble. Upon.

NEW YORK& nbsp; & # 151; & nbsp; Carly Smithson progressed on " American Idol" Thursday amid controversy over her professional past.

Smithson, 24, has made headlines for having a pre- " Idol" career: The Irish crooner recorded a debut album, 2001' s " Ultimate High, " for MCA Records. It flopped _ after the label spent more than $ 2 million trying to sell it. The show' s gimmick has always been to pluck talented young hopefuls from obscurity and make them into recording artists. Besides Smithson, several of this year' s semifinalists are not exactly rookies in the world of music.

Kristy Lee Cook once had a deal with Arista Nashville, and rocker Robbie Carrico was part of the pop group Boyz N Girlz United. " If they hadn' t already tried to make a name for themselves, then they don' t deserve to be in ( the) competition, " said judge Paula Abdul, defending the contestants' real- w. . .

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. & # 8211; & nbsp; scored 25 points and added 22 to lead the to a 116- 109 win over the on Wednesday night. scored a career- high 39 points for New Jersey, which was without star . The point guard was out with an injured right wrist. Lopez nearly made up for his absence, but the Nets settled for outside shots against Detroit' s zone defense late in the game. Stuckey played well in his return after being benched for two games by Detroit coach . Stuckey had eight points for the Pistons during one fourth- quarter stretch, helping them take a 110- 102 advantage. had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Detroit.

The Pistons led 89- 88 after three quarters, but Lopez scored seven of New Jersey' s first nine points of the fourth to give the Nets a 97- 95 lead. He didn' t score again after that, and the Pistons went on a decisive 15- 5 run. That stretch began somewhat ominously for Detroit. After Stuckey scored to tie the game at 97, Lopez drew a foul against a double team by the Pistons, and was immediately called for a technical foul. Wilcox fouled out during the sequence, which came with 9: 07 remaining, but after that, Detroit finally stopped allowing Lopez to catch the ball in position to score near the basket. made a breakaway layup to put the Pistons ahead 99- 98, and added a three- point play on a putback.

Dan Gadzuric made a free throw at the other end for the Nets, but Stuckey scored again to push the lead to five. After a 3- pointer by New Jersey' s , Stuckey made four free throws and a shot from near the top of the key to make it an eight- point game. The Pistons won their 27th game of the season, matching last season' s total. Williams had 21 assists and made a jumper in the final seconds to help New Jersey beat Minnesota 107- 105 Tuesday night, but he said after that game he was planning to see a hand and wrist specialist. It' s not clear if he' ll play again this season.

The team lists his injury as a strained tendon.

The Nets were also without guard , who was out with tendinitis in his left knee, and forward , who had a sprained right ankle and bruised heel. Detroit' s was out with a sore right knee. Notes: Stuckey didn' t start but entered with 3: 58 remaining in the first quarter. . . . The Nets used their 23rd different starting lineup of the season.

The Pistons have used 22. . . . The Pistons made buzzer- beating shots at the end of the second and third quarters & mdash; the first a dunk by Monroe and the second a 3- pointer by Daye.