ABSTRACT
The war under Pakistan’s new management With the Pakistani state left prone in the face of continuous attacks by the TTP and its affiliate factions, these non-state actors were free to expand the extent of their domain in Pakistan. This chapter addresses how the post-Musharraf military and political leadership organized its response to regain the initiative in the war inside Pakistan. Importantly, as Pakistan came under new political and military management, this coincided in January 2009 with the victory of Barack Obama in the US presidential election. The new US administration entered the White House promising to draw down the US military investment in Iraq and to commit greater military resources to Afghanistan. This consequently escalated the importance of Pakistan in US eyes, adding additional impetus to Pakistan’s own efforts in this period as US attention refocused on the region.
