EDITORIAL (July 09 2009): The drone attack on Baitullah Mehsud's stronghold on Tuesday that reportedly killed 16 militants, including three Uzbeks, was not very different from the previous strikes, except for a significant perceptional nuance: both Pakistan and United States have now come to concur that there is no such thing as 'good Taliban' and 'bad Taliban'.
Baitullah is as bad a Taliban as other Taliban leaders in North Waziristan or elsewhere. Up till now, he had been spared the CIA-operated drone strikes for the purported reason that he had no liaison with the Afghan Taliban - unlike the Taliban leaders of North Waziristan, who were targeted a number of times.
In fact, Pakistan's deep concern that Baitullah had ganged up some 43 Pakistan-based militant outfits to forge the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, as a move to buttress Fazlullah in Swat and had dispatched suicide-bombers all over Pakistan, received scant attention in Washington. But that seems to be changing as the Pakistan and US militaries move closer in identifying their common enemy.
An equally important change of heart, if you please, amongst the Pakistani military leadership is believed to be the realisation that since use of conventional air power, like fighter-bomber jets and gunship helicopters, creates excessive scare and triggers unwanted civilian population dislocations, deploying target-specific drones would be a better option.
Some 45,000 IDPs have already poured out from the war zones of South Waziristan and its adjoining areas, and that even before the full-throttled operation gets underway. Then there are reports of the two sides, Pakistan and US military authorities, agreeing to share the intelligence required to plan the drone strikes. According to media reports, Baitullah Mehsud is in their sight and if he had narrowly escaped the Tuesday attack, tomorrow or the day after he may not be that lucky.
To the extent possible, the high command would like to decapitate the Taliban network by eliminating Baitullah Mehsud and his deputies before going for a major assault in South Waziristan. There is a feeling that, but for such a plan, the Swat operation has lasted longer than expected and also triggered unexpectedly larger dislocations of civilian population.
But even when the victories attributed to the use of drones are spectacular and more foreign militants have been killed by the drones than in other operations, the question remains how to condone the violation of Pakistan airspace and infringement of the country's sovereignty. There is deep resentment over this, vociferously expressed by the man in the street and the political leadership, in and out of parliament.
But the US government has not responded in a way that would sooth frayed nerves in Pakistan. So, having failed to convince the Americans to give Pakistan the drone technology, the government is now asking them to fly the Pakistani flag on these war machines when they enter Pakistani air space. What happened to this request we do not know. But we do feel that the issue of drones needs to be settled once and for all, keeping in view the effectiveness of this weapon as compared to the conventional air power now available with Pakistan.
One has to look at this imbroglio dispassionately. The question is, if American military supplies can be transported to Afghanistan through Pakistan; if its air bases can be used by Americans to support their invasion of Afghanistan, and if many other countries - in much less dangerous situations than Pakistan - host American bases and troops on their soil; we need to look at this issue realistically through the prism of pragmatism.
Failure against Baitullah Mehsud and his ilk of murderous criminals is just no option. The Pakistan military simply cannot afford to lose this campaign against him and his gang. Pakistan must win this war at all costs - including the deployment of American drones within a mutually agreed framework.
