This book chronicles the decade-long war inside Pakistan as a campaign of military maneuverer and terrorist reprisal. The killing of Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil by US forces suggested that Pakistan had been a duplicitous participant in the war on terror. This book addresses this theme, offering an analytic account of Pakistan's strategic calculus during this time, both in military and in political terms, and of how these factors have been filtered by Pakistan's unique strategic culture.

Aims and structure of the Book -- Strategy and Pakistan's conflict with Islamist armed groups -- Managing the Pashtun : antecedents to Pakistan's frontier strategies -- US coercive diplomacy and Pakistan's slide into war (2001-2002) -- Pakistan coerces the tribes in South Waziristan (2002-2004) -- Deal making in South and North Waziristan (2004-2006) -- Game changers : Islamabad's Lal Masjid siege and loosing Swat (2007) -- Drones, suicide bombing and coercing the Pakistani state (2006 onwards) -- War on multiple fronts : Swat, Khyber, Bajaur and South Waziristan (2008-2009) -- Assessing Pakistan's strategies.