‘No Predators Please’

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Mahmud Ali Durrani has been a key player in Pakistan's national-security policy for the past few years. As ambassador to Washington from 2006 until April, he was at the center of his country's strategic, and often difficult, relations with the United States. Now as National Security Adviser, he not only counsels President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, he also delivers tough messages to Washington, protesting military strikes inside Pakistani territory, and serves as a liaison between the country's two top political leaders and powerful Army Chief of Staff, Ashfaq Kayani. In an exclusive interview with Newsweek's Ron Moreau in his corner office in the prime minister's secretariat in Islamabad, Durrani, 67, discussed how American attacks are undercutting the country's struggle against militants, Pakistan's commitment to battling extremists in its own way, and how the historically testy relations between the country's political leaders and the military are, at least for now, proceeding smoothly. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: It has been reported that you made an urgent trip to Washington immediately following an unprecedented U.S. military ground attack in Pakistan's tribal area early last September. What was your message to the Bush administration?
Durrani: I did go, but not immediately [following the attack]. First the president [Zardari] said we have to do something about this. Everyone was upset. So first I sent a letter three days [after the attack] to [U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen] Hadley, giving our point of view and strongly suggesting our opposition to this. I said it was highly unpopular in Pakistan and was causing greater anti-Americanism; that the [Pakistani] military is unhappy with this, and most important that it is not helping your cause and is counterproductive. It is doing exactly the opposite of what you are trying to do. We are trying to separate the good guys from the bad guys, trying to separate the tribes from the militants. We made it abundantly clear that this [attack] was pushing them together and creating sympathy for the militants. Soon after that I went to Washington and repeated my message personally to the White House.

What was the response?
Mr. Hadley told me that our letter has been passed to the highest levels, which I assumed meant the big boss. No promises were made. Hardly any comments were made by the other side, but my assessment is that the point did sink in—certainly about the land incursions, but not quite about [stopping] the Predator strikes.

The land incursions may have ceased but the drone attacks are escalating. Are the Predator strikes more acceptable than the ground forays?
No, they are not acceptable either. Actually the ground incursion triggered all this sentiment. There were Predator strikes before this too. People didn't quite like it but it went on. But the ground incursion brought the whole thing to the forefront. It had a double-negative effect. It solidified opposition not only to the ground incursions but to the Predator strikes as well. That [the ground operation] was not a very smart thing to do. From our perspective neither is good for us or for the U.S.

Did you give the same message to U.S. Central Command ' s new commander General David Petraeus, who visited Islamabad this past week?
I think General Petraeus's visit was very useful. We appreciate he came here so soon after he took over. It shows his, the military's, and the U.S.'s commitment to the region. We were very happy. There were two levels of discussion. One was with his military counterparts, the Chief of Army Staff (Gen. Ashfaq Kayani) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Gen. Tariq Majid.) They discussed more military matters, more focused on how to fight the war, what and what not to do. I think a message was given to him there also: "No Predators please. You are not helping." On the broader political level this same message was put to him very clearly without any ambiguity by the president and the prime minister: no Predator strikes. I think he understood the problem and our point of view. I think there was a realization that when the Predator strikes started there was a feeling in Washington that Pakistan was not doing enough. Now Pakistan is doing more than enough. So these strikes become spoilers, rather than helping.

The Pakistani military is still in the midst of a big and apparently successful operation in the Bajaur tribal area, while at the same time Predators are striking to the south in North and South Waziristan. Are those hits undermining the progress in Baj aur?
It is very distracting for us. There's collateral damage as well, which upsets the people. So it is not helping our plan. It really throws a spanner in the works.