"The number of drone strikes has risen dramatically since Obama became President, Mayer reports. In fact, the first two strikes took place on Jan. 23, the President's third day in office and the second of these hit the wrong house, that of a pro-government tribal leader that killed his entire family, including three children, one just five years of age.
As he told The New Yorker, "Every one of these dead non-combatants represents an alienated family, a new revenge feud, and more recruits for a militant movement that has grown exponentially even as drone strikes have increased. And because of the CIA program's secrecy, Mayer writes, "there is no visible system of accountability in place, despite the fact that the agency has killed many civilians inside a politically fragile, nuclear-armed country with which the U.S. is not at war.
Consequently, the drone attacks since 2006 caused the traditionally highly patriotic tribal population of FATA to gradually turn against the state especially when the US pressured the army to move into the tribal territories.
To borrow Eric Margolis, the eight-year war in Afghanistan has now set Pakistan on fire.
To further complicate the situation, Pakistan government has opted the Salvador Option. It is raising death squads in the name of tribal Lashkars in FATA. The pro-government tribes are being armed by the Pakistan government. Many pro-government tribal leaders have been killed. A suicide bomb attack on a pro-government tribal jirga in Orakzai killed at least 51 people and more than 200 wounded last year. Last September Chief of pro-government Peace Committee and his three colleagues were killed when his car was hit by an explosives-laden vehicle in Bannu Frontier Region. To add fuel to the fire, the Interior Minister this week announced raising a students' militia to combat terrorism. For sure, this will further divide the polarized society.
The army will be racing to complete the South Waziristan operation in the next six to eight weeks before the winter snows. It's likely the rebellious Pashtun tribesmen will simply fade into the mountains, leaving the army stuck garrisoning major towns and trying to protect roads.
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