Pakistan's Tribal Lands

Al Qaeda's safe haven in Pakistan is critical to its enduring ability to conduct global operations against the United States, its allies, and its interests. Reducing or eliminating that safe haven will have a significant impact on the organization's operational capacity. The United States must partner with the Pakistani government to further disrupt al Qaeda's safe haven in the near-term while simultaneously conducting counterinsurgency (COIN) operations to roll back the spread of the Taliban in the long-term. Eliminating al Qaeda's sanctuary in Pakistan's tribal areas will not defeat the global Islamist insurgency, nor resolve the myriad issues in Pakistan, nor win the war in Afghanistan, but it is a prerequisite for all three.