Predator - A Blessing in disguise in Waziristan

FARHAT TAJ of the Center for Interdisciplinary Gender Research of the University of Oslo challenges Pakistani and US media reports about the civilian casualties in the drone attacks in Waziristan claiming that those estimates were fabricated by the pro-Taliban and pro Al-Qaeda elements in Pakistan as part of their propaganda against the US. In an op-ed in Pakistan's The Daily Times, "Drone attacks: challenging some fabrications" she claims that the people of Waziristan had suffered under occupation by the Taliban and the al Qaeda and hence welcomed the drone attacks as a means of getting rid of their oppressors through the precision strikes.

The nuclear headache

Bruce Riedel, senior fellow at Brookings' Saban Center for Middle East Policy claims that the Pakistan army’s offensive in Waziristan and the growing backlash among the public against the Taliban and al Qaeda offered Washington an opportunity to improve its image in Pakistan. In an article, "Pakistan, the next nuclear nightmare", he states that if the Obama administration showed continued resolve in Afghanistan, Pakistan would follow suit against the Taliban.