Must read from Arif Rafiq at the Pakistan Policy Blog on the recent developments in the Pakistani FATA:
The reality is that none of the latest U.S. drone attacks could haveoccurred without the provision of intelligence by Pakistan’s military. This is why the targeting seems to be more precise — in clear contrastto the Angor Ada raid that yielded no high value targets and killedmainly innocent Pakistani civilians. In fact, most of the good U.S.intelligence on the tribal areas and al-Qaeda comes from the ISI.
Rafiq goes on to speculate as to what caused the Pakistani military’s change of heart, as well as the potential implications (the Good, Bad and Ugly). His takeaway?
There is no alternative to strengthening the Pakistani state.
When Rafiq talks, people who want to know what’s going on in Pakistan should listen.