JE Menon wrote:This may well be the ISI's roundabout way, through the Haqqani network, of retaliating for the CIA-controlled Predator strikes that have taken out a few ISI people over the past year.
No. I have no source for this.
The CIA's presence in the area has been growing, and is set to grow further with the Afghan 'surge'.
This attack is meant to cripple those operations - not just by killing agency officers, but by forcing them to take security precautions that would limit their ability to operate and recruit in the area.
The suicide bomber for example is supposed to be someone the CIA was recruiting as an agent. What will happen to CIA operations if they have to worry that every agent recruitment meeting may turn in to a suicide bombing? They're going to have to be much more cautious, and the result will be lost opportunities to penetrate the Taliban.
Given how critical time is, it is likely to pay off.