"US Considers Enlisting Pakistan Tribes To Fight Al-Qaeda" from the NY Times reports that the US hopes that "awakening" can strike twice - as it did in Anbar Province in Iraq where the US forces were able to capitalize on the region turning on al-Qaeda - and is looking into lining up tribesmen in the sensitive tribal areas where the Taliban and al-Qaeda like to hide out to flush them out and take them on.
The new proposal is modeled in part on a similar effort by American forces in Anbar Province in Iraq that has been hailed as a great success in fighting foreign insurgents there. But it raises the question of whether such partnerships can be forged without a significant American military presence on the ground in Pakistan. And it is unclear whether enough support can be found among the tribes.
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