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"But a Monday op-ed by Huma Yusuf, Pakistan fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, in the Pakistani daily Dawn pours cold water on the "histrionic" reaction of many Pakistani politicians to the latest drone attack, suggesting that, while the "Pakistanis have believed that their unified outrage can coerce the US into suspending the strikes... the consensus in Washington is that the drones are here to stay for the foreseeable future." Moreover, Yusuf adds that many in Pakistan's tribal areas prefer these targeted attacks as they "cause less collateral damage than the Pakistan Army's conventional bombing tactics, and they've disrupted a variety of militant operations.
"Broadly, the Americans seek a strong and relatively centralized Afghan government commanding a large army that can control its territory. Almost all those ends are objectionable to Pakistan, which while it calls for a stable Afghanistan, prefers a more loosely governed neighbor where it can influence events, if need be, through Taliban proxies."
"Broadly, the Americans seek a strong and relatively centralized Afghan government commanding a large army that can control its territory. Almost all those ends are objectionable to Pakistan, which while it calls for a stable Afghanistan, prefers a more loosely governed neighbor where it can influence events, if need be, through Taliban proxies."