bob, you should write less and read more. I said "post-Taliban" govt, not the Taliban govt.
I don't know if NK is a good example of cowboy diplomacy working well. Last time I checked NK still had nukes and besides those were mainly multi-party talks with the US playing the cowboy on the sidelines.
Regardless of the cause & effect you can't deny that the US alliance with former Sunni insurgents has been critical to the at least temporary success of the surge.
If you're one of those who still thinks the Iraq invasion was a good idea, you might want to check out Bush's former press secretary's new book. Here's an article about it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080528/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_mcclellan_book