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In the third and final part of this series, investigative military historian Gareth Porter expands on the multiple factors at play behind the decision by the Bush administration to allow US Special Forces to conduct targeted strikes inside Pakistan, against the better judgement of the National Intelligence Council. Porter stresses how this constitutes a very dangerous escalation of the “war on terror”, which may lead to further destabilization of Pakistan – a nuclear-armed nation of 170 million people – and even to a war between the US and Pakistan.