The top US defense official has said that the US is at war in Pakistan – an obvious reference to the continuing Drone attacks and covert operations by the US in FATA. He has also said that the US is losing patience with Pakistan because of the sanctuaries given in FATA to groups like the Haqqani Network that attack NATO/ISAF in Afghanistan. Earlier he was in India shoring up and strengthening the US-India strategic alliance by holding out the prospect of an Indian role in the US power shift to the Asia-Pacific region and a greater Indian presence in Afghanistan – a prospect that will find favor with the pro-India government of Afghanistan. The Indians will play hardball just as they did to get the US-India Civilian Nuclear Technology Agreement in spite of its implications for nuclear proliferation and trade. This time the Indians are likely to hold out for major defense related technology having signalled their capacity and willingness for Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) and Multiple Independently Targetted Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) as well as a shift to maritime strategy with interest in the Asia-Pacific region.
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