One of my biggest questions regarding Obama’s incoming presidency is whether he will continue the pressure and attacks on the remnant Taliban and al Qaeda forces hold up in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions, specifically the FATA agencies of North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Bajaur (see map above, click for larger image). In recent months the […]

Major Update: Even the BBC is recognizing the tribal Awakening: Tribal elders gather in a mammoth meeting place, or jirga hall, to tell us why they support the military offensive. They accuse the Pakistani Taleban of setting up a parallel state in Bajaur, undermining the traditional tribal leadership. They say they’ve exhausted all attempts at […]

  Good news is coming out today from the South Waziristan Agency of Pakistan’s FATA region.  Baitullah Mehsud, a top Taliban leader and military commander claimed to be behind the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is possibly dying: Baitullah Mehsud, the head of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is seriously ill, leading to convergence of the top […]

There has been a second missile strike into the Pakistan Tribal areas thought to be where the remnants of al-Qaeda are hiding out in their last sanctuary on Earth. It is the second missile strike in two days in Pakistani tribal region and the local tribesmen said the missile was fired from a U.S drone. […]

 Update: Four people are confirmed killed, 2 of the Arabs. In other strikes 2 Taliban commanders and 40 fighters were killed by Pakistani air strikes. – end update   We seemed to have identified and taken out another al-Qaeda safe house in the tribal areas of Pakistan: At least five people were killed when a […]

In a post yesterday I noted another apparent US missile strike inside the Tribal Areas of Pakistan along the Afghanistan border. Some reports this morning claim the two US missiles took out a significant number of Arab fighters (al-Qaeda) in the FATA Agency of South Waziristan: Twelve people, most of them alleged foreign fighters, were […]

  The US apparently has struck another al-Qaeda compound inside the Pakistan FATA agency of South Waziristan: Missiles fired from Afghanistan hit a militant hideout in Pakistan’s tribal belt Wednesday, killing at least eight people including some foreign extremists, security officials said. The strike in the South Waziristan region was the first since key US […]

On July 28th what appears to have been a CIA/Special Forces Predator Strike on a compound in South Waziristan took out 4 key al-Qaeda leaders using 3 missiles. On August 13th another probable Predator strike hit South Waziristan using four missiles. To date no details have ever been reported on who was killed out of […]

One key question I have regarding the latest Zawahiri audio tape – his first ever in English – is when was it made and is it authentic. It is clear Pakistan is in a fight for its soul, and there are forces inside the Pakistan Government which want to destabilize the democratic government and replace […]

About a week after the last Predator attack on top al-Qaeda targets rumors were flying that al-Qaeda’s number 2, Ayman Zawahiri, may have been injured or killed in the strike. I have been checking in with some folks who are closer to the Intelligence Community than I am and I posted on the fact there […]