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| India-Pakistan |
| US unlikely to stop using Predators in Pakistan |
| 2006-01-30 |
| The Bush administration is unlikely to shy away from using Predator missile attacks on al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, despite the risk of political backlash for U.S. ally, President Pervez Musharraf, officials and intelligence experts say. The CIA has used pilotless Predator drones to carry out at least three attacks against al Qaeda targets in Pakistan over the past eight months, including a Jan. 13 airstrike targeted at al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, which killed 18 civilians including women and children. "He (Musharraf) is walking a tightrope. He thinks that the United States' support is vital, both for Pakistan and himself. But he cannot allow an impression to form that ... the Americans can conduct such operations without consulting," said Talat Masood, a retired Pakistani military general turned political analyst. The January strike on Damadola village failed to kill Zawahri, who was not there, according to Pakistani intelligence sources. It may have killed four other al Qaeda leaders, the sources said. But no bodies have been found and their deaths remain unconfirmed more than two weeks later. U.S. sources say the prospect for civilian casualties and political fallout is part of a strategic calculus that the CIA uses in deciding whether the targeted killing of a specific al Qaeda member is worthwhile. "It's all a question of who the target is. And if the target is right, they'll attack again with the Predator," said Ruel Marc Gerecht, a former CIA Middle Eastern specialist. Retired generals in Pakistan think the same. A former head of the ISI said that ruthlessly destroying potential threats is part of U.S. military culture. "If they suspect the enemy is there, then they go for it," said the former Pakistani spy chief, retired Lieutenant-General Asad Durrani. Pakistan lodged a public protest a day after the Damadola airstrike, saying it would not allow such attacks to happen again, while demonstrations spread across the country and anti-American sentiment seethed in the Pashtun tribal belt on the border. But there is a strong belief in U.S. and Pakistani intelligence circles that the Pakistani leadership knew of the attack ahead of time and that the military's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, shared information that prompted the CIA to seek clearance for the airstrike. Musharraf himself did not condemn the U.S. action explicitly until last week, in media interviews during a visit to Europe. U.S. President George W. Bush and other senior White House officials were apprised of the Damadola plan before the attack, according to intelligence sources who say the Americans considered the January missile strike to be especially sensitive because of the risk of civilian deaths. "It was a White House decision. The CIA director generally has command and control. But this one was of such sensitivity that it needed a White House check-off," said a former U.S. intelligence officer with knowledge of the Damadola operation. The White House, when contacted about the claim, had no comment. Interrogations of Abu Faraj Farj al Liby, an al Qaeda operations chief captured in Pakistan last May, led the CIA and security forces to focus surveillance on Damadola. "He's the one who told them Zawahri frequented it," said the former U.S. intelligence officer. "They got something from al Liby, and they've widened the search based on intelligence leads." U.S. experts say Predator attacks give Washington leverage to pressure Pakistan into asserting greater control over the tribal badlands along the Afghan border, where al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and Zawahri are believed to be still roaming free. Pakistani analysts say security forces have been successful in decimating the militant network's operational commanders there. The Pakistani army has around 80,000 troops deployed on the border in addition to the tribal militias that form the Frontier Corps. But there are parts of the semi-autonomous regions where the army remains wary of going and where any troop movements would be quickly spotted and potential targets alerted. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 ..these aren't the drones you are looking for.... |
| Posted by: Gdobson 2006-01-30 14:40 |
| #1 "you can't get away from the drones". Heh. Can you imagine what it must be like for them? It's a wonder that they arent dead from parinoia induced stress, with the knowledge that somewhere up in the sky, tireless, remorseless, patient death is waiting... |
| Posted by: N guard 2006-01-30 13:49 |