FIRST there was news that the US is upping its military involvement in FATA, which many in Pakistan already knew to be the case; now a more sinister design is coming to the surface. This is the US intent of setting up a parallel Ministry of Border and Tribes in Afghanistan. Clearly, the mission is to intrude directly into FATA not only militarily but also politically and economically. According to sources cited in this paper, this Ministry will be responsible for operations on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghan international border and the personnel will be especially trained in intelligence operations and will work directly with tribal elders on both sides of the border. There is also going to be massive amounts of funds that will be disbursed on both sides, with no government of Pakistan check on where and how these will be spent. In fact, the US intent is to form a parallel structure to the Pakistani state in Pakistans territory and delink the tribes further from the state of Pakistan. It is not simply an issue of the increased difficulties in sealing or fencing this international border - which Pakistan has been seeking to do and the Afghans have been actively disrupting - that such a US move will give rise to, although that in itself should be an issue of serious concern for Pakistan, especially its military. Even more threatening is the larger design of sidelining the Pakistani state within its own territory - something that the US is also seeking to do through providing aid and assistance directly to NGOs in Pakistan rather than the state of Pakistan. Yet the Pakistan government is so mesmerised by the US leadership and its flirtations with individual Pakistani leaders, that it has lost all rationality in dealing with the multiple level threats not only to Pakistans sovereignty (which has been lost in the drone attacks) but its very existence as an independent state. And we have yet to see the Kerry Lugar Act becoming operationalised with all its intrusive conditionalities. With an increasing US military presence in Pakistan, it is strange to find the Pakistan military so sanguine on these fronts - or has it compromised on national integrity for a few hi tech military toys? Is there no one within the Pakistani state who will resist the lures and/or threats the US is meting out to our decision makers? If the US design for a parallel governance structure for FATA is allowed to mature, it will merely be the start of a journey that, with its intelligence ops intrusions and armed US military personnel, will end at our nuclear assets. Can no one see the larger picture?