White House is thought to have ordered a dramatic escalation in America's "drone war"

[G_j]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/6728577/US-to-escalate-drone-attacks-on-Pakistan.html


US to escalate drone attacks on Pakistan
The White House is thought to have ordered a dramatic escalation in America's "drone war" in Pakistan's remote tribal areas.

By Javed Siddiq in Islamabad and Dean Nelson in New Delhi
Published: 6:34PM GMT 04 Dec 2009

Islamabad fears the CIA has been told to increase the number of missile attacks against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets close to the Afghan border.

American leaders have publicly voiced their frustration at Pakistan's failure to target Mullah Omar's Balochistan base, from where he is believed to direct the war against Nato forces in Afghanistan.

Pakistan prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and his foreign minister Shah Mehmoud Qureshi both called for more details of President Obama's surge plans and in particular how they will impact over the border.

They are concerned that an expansion of the campaign by unmanned Predator drones will cause anger throughout Pakistan and uproar in Balochistan itself where the government is already facing an armed revolt by separatists.

Abdul Basit, a foreign ministry spokesman, said there were limits to Pakistani co-operation, and the drone attacks were counterproductive.
"This has never been part of our discussions. There are clear redlines as far as we're concerned," he said. "We have clearly conveyed our redlines to them."

The Pakistan government is believed to have a secret pact with United States in which the Americans are allowed to launch Predator strikes on the understanding that ministers will condemn the breach of its territorial sovereignty.

..more..

[YouTakeTheSkyway]

1. I think we all knew this was coming eventually.

[Arctic Dave]

2. Erik Prince must have sold off the drone assassination program so he could retire.

[G_j]

3. kick

(just because all the recs are gone now...}

[FiveGoodMen]

4. Here's one back.

[cliffordu]

5. Could be to stir the shit at the border long enough that the people that live there

'overrreact' and the Pakistani government has to send troops, like it or not.

Or it could be just about killing people.