Less than a month after it emerged that the alleged Times Square bomber had ties to the Pakistani Taliban, the U.S. military is dusting off its plans for a unilateral strike in Pakistan—just in case. If a successful terrorist attack were to take place on American soil, and it became clear that Pakistani Taliban elements were responsible, the United States wants to have its military retaliation options ready. “If, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan were to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had warned after the Times Square plot was foiled. Military officials stressed that a strike would be a last resort and that the president would only turn to it if he lost confidence in the CIA drone campaign.