The New York Times has reported that top Bush administration officials have drafted a secret plan late last year to make it easier for US Special Operations Forces to operate inside Pakistan's tribal areas. There is mounting pressure and frustration in the Pentagon at the continued delay in deployment of special operations teams into Pakistan's tribal regions, where senior al-Qaeda operatives are thought to be hiding. It is time for us to act quickly and decisively for getting these militants out once and for all. The US fails to realize the terrible price Pakistan has paid in the war against terror. What more do they want? All efforts are being exerted on our part to get rid of these malicious elements operating in the tribal region. The Americans should realize that there is no foolproof way of gaining control of the tribal areas. By most accounts, the administration failed to develop a comprehensive plan to address the militant problem there, and never resolved the disagreements between warring agencies that undermined efforts to fashion any coherent strategy. The US should realise its own policies need to be reviewed. -DINA JAFFAR, Lahore Cantt., via e-mail, July 1.