Quil Lawrence

It's not unusual for laborers the world over to cross borders, sometimes illegally, to find a safer environment and better wages. But it is strange when their land of opportunity is Afghanistan.

It may be a sign of economic and political instability in neighboring Pakistan that manual laborers are sneaking across into Afghanistan, where wages are double and, in some cases, security is better.

That level of desperation has many fearing that Pakistan may be holding on to stability just as tenuously as Afghanistan.

Day Laborers

The daring assault that killed Osama bin Laden last week has been seen by many as a vindication of the tactic of "targeted killing," which Gen. David Petraeus has utilized at an unprecedented level in Afghanistan.

U.S. military sources say the tactic has turned back the Taliban's momentum. But critics say it can be counterproductive — especially when mistakes are made.

In the aftermath of the raid in a Pakistani garrison town that killed Osama bin Laden, Congress' anger toward Pakistan is growing. Some lawmakers want to suspend U.S. aid to Pakistan.

But American military commanders are concerned about the potential impact on the war in Afghanistan. Most of the supplies for U.S. forces in that land-locked country are shipped in by truck through Pakistan.

A Tough Border To Cross

There is no clear sign yet that the death of Osama bin Laden has changed U.S. policy in Afghanistan. There is also no sign it has had any effect on the Taliban movement, which so far has been strangely silent about the death of its one-time ally and benefactor.

But that's not stopping fevered speculation in Afghanistan about how bin Laden's killing this week might help or hurt efforts to negotiate with the Taliban.

Afghanistan hosted Osama bin Laden at the time of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Most Afghans reacted positively to the news that bin Laden has been killed.