In the past, it has been confirmed that the ISI had been kept out of the loop for the US's drone campaign. Pakistan did not know what the targets for the drone strikes would be beforehand. This resulted in a lot of innocent people getting killed in drone strikes (tribal elders, children being killed) & the terrorist networks remaining intact, & then huge embarrassment for the Pakistani administration. As a result of these terror groups of remaining intact, the war in Afghanistan's eastern provinces only intensified, which showed how ineffective the drone campaign in Pakistan had been.
As the PNS Mehran incident & the Osama bin Laden incident have shown, Pakistan has finally realized that there is no good or bad Taliban in FATA. The groups the ISI tried to woo on its side (the "good Taliban": Haqqani group, Waziri [Mullah Nazir, Hafiz Gul Bahadur] group) to isolate the TTP Mehsud group have strong ties with Al-Qaeda, & Al-Qaeda is a huge threat to Pakistan, even if the Haqqani & the Mullah Nazir/Hafiz Gul Bahadur group aren't by themselves. This has resulted in a huge policy shift for the ISI, & they are now going after the groups they consider the "good Taliban" as well.
US Predators strike 3 targets in South Waziristan - The Long War Journal (Mullah Nazir group, the so-called "good Taliban" being targeted as well, which didn't happen in the past)
The US has undergone a radical change of policy as well. Instead of viewing the ISI suspiciously, accusing them of double dealing & keeping the ISI out of the loop, the US has stated that "joint co-operation" between both nations is taking place now.
When the ISI was kept out of the loop, most of the drone strikes were concentrated in North Waziristan, but as the ISI has more in-depth intelligence networks inside all parts of FATA, the drone strikes can finally start leading to some success. As drone strikes are extending to a bigger areas in FATA right now (in as South Waziristan as well) with most probably targets & intelligence provided by the ISI, the drone campaign is starting to yield real rewards for both the US & Pakistan, as mostly terrorists are being killed in these drone strikes now.
I believe the US partnership with Pakistan can result in success for both countries. If Pakistan has limited military resources to deal with all the terrorist networks in the FATA, they can provide the US with intelligence on the targets for the drone strikes, & this can work out well for Pakistan in removing the anti-state terror groups from its soil. I see this as a very good opportunity for Pakistan.
As the PNS Mehran incident & the Osama bin Laden incident have shown, Pakistan has finally realized that there is no good or bad Taliban in FATA. The groups the ISI tried to woo on its side (the "good Taliban": Haqqani group, Waziri [Mullah Nazir, Hafiz Gul Bahadur] group) to isolate the TTP Mehsud group have strong ties with Al-Qaeda, & Al-Qaeda is a huge threat to Pakistan, even if the Haqqani & the Mullah Nazir/Hafiz Gul Bahadur group aren't by themselves. This has resulted in a huge policy shift for the ISI, & they are now going after the groups they consider the "good Taliban" as well.
US Predators strike 3 targets in South Waziristan - The Long War Journal (Mullah Nazir group, the so-called "good Taliban" being targeted as well, which didn't happen in the past)
The US has undergone a radical change of policy as well. Instead of viewing the ISI suspiciously, accusing them of double dealing & keeping the ISI out of the loop, the US has stated that "joint co-operation" between both nations is taking place now.
When the ISI was kept out of the loop, most of the drone strikes were concentrated in North Waziristan, but as the ISI has more in-depth intelligence networks inside all parts of FATA, the drone strikes can finally start leading to some success. As drone strikes are extending to a bigger areas in FATA right now (in as South Waziristan as well) with most probably targets & intelligence provided by the ISI, the drone campaign is starting to yield real rewards for both the US & Pakistan, as mostly terrorists are being killed in these drone strikes now.
I believe the US partnership with Pakistan can result in success for both countries. If Pakistan has limited military resources to deal with all the terrorist networks in the FATA, they can provide the US with intelligence on the targets for the drone strikes, & this can work out well for Pakistan in removing the anti-state terror groups from its soil. I see this as a very good opportunity for Pakistan.
