The US Deputy Secretary of State, Richard Armitage, on September 21, 2006, said: You are with us or you will be bombed back to the Stone Age. This one telephone call after 9/11 swept Dictator Pervez Musharraf off his feet and he succumbed to more than what the Americans had actually demanded. That was the date when Musharraf immediately placed a number of air bases, including Jacobabad and Pasni, at the disposal of the US ostensibly for logistic support but in reality to conduct military operations in Afghanistan, which was in the knowledge of the government. Besides these two air bases, there was a third secret airstrip named Shamsi, also called Bandari, in the remote wilderness of Balochistan. The Shamsi airstrip was originally built by the ruler of UAE for his personal use in the remote area of Balochistan to be used for his hunting trips. It was unknown to the world and even in Pakistan, including the Pakistan air force, since the airstrip was not marked on any map printed in the country. General (retd) Musharraf permitted the US to use this airstrip against Afghanistan and also to launch drone attacks in Pakistan in the name of the so-called war on terror. Since then the US has been using the Shamsi airstrip to station the unmanned predator and reaper drones. The presence of Blackwater worldwide has also been confirmed in Shamsi where they were used, in addition to their so-called security duties, to arm these drones with AG M114 Hellfire Missiles or 500 pounder laser bombs. The arrest and detention of Raymond Davis revealed yet another chapter in the American clandestine activities in that besides the Blackwater hired contractors, there are other elements as well assigned to destabilise Pakistan with the ultimate goal of getting hold of its nuclear arsenal. However, the Davis fiasco is now an old story, since he has flown out of the country on the payment of blood money called Diyat in Sharia; it was indeed a fraudulent action because his case was not covered by Diyat in the Sharia. Anyway, the predators and reaper drones are used by the Americans to create panic and dissatisfaction amongst the tribals so as to destabilise Pakistan and pave the way for the achievement of their ultimate objective - our nuclear assets. Undoubtedly, the drones are based, looked after and rearmed with AG M114 Hellfire missiles at the local bases like Shamsi and it is also true that they are pilotless aircrafts. But behind these drone operations an army of specialised technicians, including pilots, are engaged and they work day in and day out to make these flights possible. The technology is so advanced that it reliably recognises targets and distinguishes different targets from one another, but the drones still need a pilot to make the call to shoot from the Creak Air Force Base close to Las Vegas, known as the Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Centre of Excellence. Nevertheless, it is nave to believe that these drone attacks were in retaliation for keeping Davis in custody. The Americans will not waste their energies and resources on such frivolous matters; they would rather use these attacks for furthering their twin objectives of eliminating Al-Qaeda (like their recent one in Abbottabad on Osama bin Ladens residence) and for destabilising Pakistan. Of late, the frequency of drone attacks in the northern areas of Pakistan has considerably increased with the threats of the same in Balochistan. Recently, two successive drone attacks killed 25 and injured 39 innocent civilians, including women and children the latest strike was conducted on April 22 that was the 19th drone attack in this year. The Army Chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, came out very strongly against these attacks that were conducted in the tribal regions of Pakistan. He lodged strong protests against them and asked Washington to review its 'drone policy because such attacks are counterproductive. The US administration, on the other hand, believes that these attacks are the panacea to eliminate the terrorists and Admiral Mullen on his recent visit charged that Pakistan was not doing enough to fight terrorism. General Kayani strongly rebutted the Admirals assertion. It seems that there is a stalemate with both sides sticking to their viewpoints, while the drone attacks continue to undermine the sovereignty of Pakistan. So what is the solution? Confrontation Confrontations may be of two types: passive - by denying the supply route to the US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, and active and militant way - by shooting down the drones operating over Pakistans territory. However, the second option is sure to invoke retaliation from the Americans. Can Pakistan withstand this armed American retaliation is a subject of a separate discourse. Meanwhile, it is apparent from some statements of those who matter in the government that they are not conversant with the subject they are talking about and also are not on the same wavelength as the experts of that subject. One example of this mutual contradiction is that about a year back when the Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistan Air Force was asked if the PAF has the capability to down the drones flying over Pakistan. He categorically confirmed: If ordered the PAF certainly can shoot down the drones. While the Federal Minister for Interior has repeatedly observed that our air force has no capacity to shoot down the high-flying drones. It is not sure if the Interior Minister said this out of sheer ignorance of the capabilities of Thunder-17 aircraft, which has been recently inducted in the Pakistan air force, or whether he is trying to soften the wrath of the public against the drones by expressing Pakistans helplessness in tackling with them on its own. In both cases, it had a dampening effect on the public. Pakistan has to be bold and act and the drone strikes will stop. The Americans may threaten to take all types of actions, but they will not go beyond certain limits of antagonistic actions. They are well aware that their survival in the area depends on our cooperation. Also, it is true of Pakistan as well because of the economic crunch; it is just a case of mutual interests. This has been my firm conviction ever since and I have been voicing it in my articles. n The writer is former ADC to the Quaid-i-Azam.