'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in Pakistan Drone War (Updated)
(NSI News Source Info) By Noah Shachtman November 18, 2008: America's top commander in Afghanistan says he doesn't have anything to do with the flurry of U.S. killer drone attacks in the nearby border regions of Pakistan.
In an interview with Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, General David McKiernan, the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said, "these drones do not come under my command."
It's part of a delicate diplomatic dance surrounding the stepped-up unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike against the Pakistani-based militants who have become one of the leading dangers for coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Washington Post calls it "a don't-ask-don't-tell policy" for the robotic assaults. "The U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes."
This wink-wink-nudge-nudge approach is made easier because the drones hitting Pakistan aren't being operated by the U.S. military, it seems. The Central Intelligence Agency is remotely-flying the UAVs.
Hence Gen. McKiernan's statement. "For more context, unmanned aerial vehicles operating within the borders of Afghanistan may fall under his command," a spokesman for McKiernan e-mails. "But anything in Pakistan would not come under his command. As Gen. McKiernan often puts it, his mandate stops at the Afghan border."
Another example came in late September, when an American-made Predator drone went down in Pakistan; the wreckage was shown on national television. But Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen told Danger Room, "It wasn't a U.S. UAV." Well, maybe not a U.S. military drone.
Since the start of August, American Predator and Reaper drones have struck at least 20 times on Pakistani targets. The latest attack killed at least 10; Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari called the hits "counterproductive."
But as the Post's story makes clear, the Pakistani government feels quite the opposite. Terrorist attacks within Pakistan have persuaded the government that the border-based "are a grave threat to Pakistan as well as to Afghanistan and the U.S.," Slate's William Saletan notes.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in Pakistan Drone War (Updated)
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in Pakistan Drone War (Updated)
(NSI News Source Info) By Noah Shachtman November 18, 2008: America's top commander in Afghanistan says he doesn't have anything to do with the flurry of U.S. killer drone attacks in the nearby border regions of Pakistan.
In an interview with Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, General David McKiernan, the Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan said, "these drones do not come under my command."
It's part of a delicate diplomatic dance surrounding the stepped-up unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) strike against the Pakistani-based militants who have become one of the leading dangers for coalition forces in Afghanistan. The Washington Post calls it "a don't-ask-don't-tell policy" for the robotic assaults. "The U.S. government refuses to publicly acknowledge the attacks while Pakistan's government continues to complain noisily about the politically sensitive strikes."
This wink-wink-nudge-nudge approach is made easier because the drones hitting Pakistan aren't being operated by the U.S. military, it seems. The Central Intelligence Agency is remotely-flying the UAVs.
Hence Gen. McKiernan's statement. "For more context, unmanned aerial vehicles operating within the borders of Afghanistan may fall under his command," a spokesman for McKiernan e-mails. "But anything in Pakistan would not come under his command. As Gen. McKiernan often puts it, his mandate stops at the Afghan border."
Another example came in late September, when an American-made Predator drone went down in Pakistan; the wreckage was shown on national television. But Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen told Danger Room, "It wasn't a U.S. UAV." Well, maybe not a U.S. military drone.
Since the start of August, American Predator and Reaper drones have struck at least 20 times on Pakistani targets. The latest attack killed at least 10; Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari called the hits "counterproductive."
But as the Post's story makes clear, the Pakistani government feels quite the opposite. Terrorist attacks within Pakistan have persuaded the government that the border-based "are a grave threat to Pakistan as well as to Afghanistan and the U.S.," Slate's William Saletan notes.
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