But the turnaround was aided by the presence of U.S. troops, who weakened Al Qaeda in Iraq and backed up the fledgling patrols. In Pakistan, there are no U.S. forces to support the few tribal leaders who might be willing to ally themselves with the Americans.
"There's never going to be an Anbar Awakening in the FATA because we're not there," said a Pentagon official involved in Pakistan policy. "There's no awakening unless you're there to help to wake them up."
Dubious allies
Compounding the difficulties, American spy agencies depend heavily on cooperation from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, elements of which are believed to have long-standing ties to the Taliban.
Underscoring the lack of trust, a former high-ranking CIA official said that the United States typically gives the Pakistani government less than an hour's notice before launching a Predator missile strike, largely out of fear that more time might allow ISI sympathizers to tip off targets.
The ISI sometimes shares information from its network of tribal contacts, officials said. But it also routinely stonewalls CIA requests.
"They are in many cases intentionally keeping you in the dark," said the former CIA official who served in the region.
The former official described one case in which a CIA agent near Waziristan, in the tribal area, pressed the ISI over several months to detain a Pakistani who appeared to be helping Al Qaeda operatives move safely around the region.
"He was a known Al Qaeda associate and facilitator," the former CIA officer said. "But you bring it up 10 times and they never take the first step of planning anything. It's like pushing against a marshmallow."
Al Qaeda and the Taliban have also undermined the CIA's efforts by cementing their relationships with tribal leaders through inter-marriage, as well as a bloody campaign of intimidation.
Several CIA officials said it is common for bodies to be found in the region with a note attached saying "American spy." Several former CIA officials maintain that few of those killed truly had agency ties, but that the killings scare the local population.
On occasions, U.S. Special Forces teams have been sent into Pakistan. In 2006, one of the nation's most elite units, Seal Team 6, raided a suspected Al Qaeda compound at Damadola.
At CIA headquarters in Virginia, a roomful of people watched on video streamed from a Predator surveillance plane, officials said. They included high-ranking officials such as Albert M. Calland III, then the deputy director.
