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| India-Pakistan |
| Obama refuses to rule out drone attacks in Quetta |
| 2009-12-15 |
| [Dawn] President Barack Obama has warned that the United States would launch strikes inside Pakistan if it had actionable intelligence about the presence of top Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders in a particular area. His statement -- included in the transcript of an interview released on Monday -- contradicts earlier US media reports that President Obama opposed drone attacks at suspected Taliban targets in and around Quetta. Mr Obama made the statement when he was reminded that for almost a year officials in his administration had been saying that the Taliban leadership was now somewhere in Quetta and yet he was reluctant to call in drones to target those leaders. 'Well I don't want to comment on certain sensitive aspects to our efforts in this border region. I think it is fair to say, number one, that my principle -- and I articulated this in the campaign -- is if we've got actual war intelligence on high-ranking Al Qaeda leaders, or for that matter high-ranking Taliban leaders who are directing actions against US troops --then we will take action,' Mr Obama told CBS's Steve Kroft.'Now, a lot of this border region is big and complicated. And even a city like Quetta is a big city. And, you know, we have to respect the sovereignty of Pakistan as we engage in potential actions that would involve going into a major metropolitan area with a lot of civilians around it. We expect Pakistan to cooperate more effectively in the future than they have in the past,' he added. Mr Obama pointed out that the US would like Pakistan to recognise the degree to which the presence of such elements inside its borders threatened its own stability. 'This isn't America's war. This isn't the West's war. This is a situation in which you've got a very dangerous, extremist network that is growing, and right now is killing more Pakistanis than anybody else,' he said. The Pakistani public and the military were both turning against the militants and it grew with the threat. 'But it takes some time to operationalise, and our hope is that we see progress over the next couple of years,' he added. 'Do you believe the Pakistanis have any appetite for going into Quetta and finding Mullah Omar?' he was asked. 'I think that the Pakistanis recognise that these networks are killing Pakistanis a lot more than they're killing Americans right now, and that it's in their interest to start moving in a new direction. How fast they do that in part is gonna depend on how effectively we can partner with them,' said Mr Obama. Meanwhile, the Newsweek reported on Monday that President Obama had 'nixed the expansion' of drone strikes to Quetta. 'Five administration officials tell Newsweek that the president has sided with political and diplomatic advisers who argue that widening the scope of the drone attacks would be risky and unwise,' the report said. 'Mr Obama is concerned that firing missiles into urban areas like Quetta, where intelligence reports suggest that Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar and other high-level militants have sometimes taken shelter, would greatly increase the risk of civilian casualties.' But the Los Angeles Times reported that the Obama administration was leaning towards expanding the drone war to places like Quetta. 'The concern has created tension among Obama administration officials over whether unmanned aircraft strikes in a city of 850,000 are a realistic option,' the newspaper noted. 'Proponents, including some military leaders, argue that attacking the Taliban in Quetta -- or at least threatening to do so -- is crucial to the success of the revised war strategy President Obama unveiled last week.' A senior US official involved in the deliberations told LAT that it's all about sending a message to the Taliban. 'What the Pakistanis have to do is tell the Taliban that there is too much pressure from the US,' the officials said. 'We can't allow you to have sanctuary inside Pakistan anymore.' In his interview to CBS, Mr Obama also said that ever since occupying the White House, his administration had been trying to convince Pakistan that it was terrorism and not India which posed a threat to the country and thus impressing upon Islamabad to shift more troops from its eastern border with India to its western front. 'We have had very detailed and serious conversations with the Pakistan government and the Pakistan military about the fact that their traditional orientation, which has been to compete with India, has now been overtaken by extremists within their own midst that are exploding bombs with impunity throughout Pakistan,' he said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Meanwhile, the Newsweek reported on Monday that President Obama had 'nixed the expansion' of drone strikes to Quetta...But the Los Angeles Times reported that the Obama administration was leaning towards expanding the drone war to places like Quetta...A senior US official involved in the deliberations told LAT that it's all about sending a message to the Taliban. "sending a message", a mixed one, and not just to the Taliban. Oh yeah, that's "doing something right". |
| Posted by: Pappy 2009-12-15 21:12 |
| #1 Why so Quiet???Someone most be doing something right. |
| Posted by: play4keeps 2009-12-15 11:11 |