What Crisis? U.S. Drones, Jets Still Fly Over Pakistan

[The Northerner]

Pakistan is angry at the U.S. for accidentally killing 24 of its soldiers in a disastrous helicopter incident along the Afghanistan border. It’s certainly angry enough to cut off NATO supply routes for the war and order the U.S. out of its major Pakistani base for the drone war. But it’s not angry enough to stop U.S. drones and other planes from flying over its territory — which is one of the only steps the Pakistanis can take that really would mess up America’s shadow war on its turf.

Pentagon spokesman George Little tells Danger Room that he is “unaware that there’s been any denial of airspace over Pakistan.” As of Monday morning, Pakistan’s response to the incident has been shutting down the supply routes and getting the U.S. out of its Shamsi air base, a major launching pad for the drone war. Little added that he’s “unaware of any U.S. military personnel at that base.” A representative for the CIA, which runs the drone war, didn’t respond to a similar query.

Usually, Pakistan just threatens to kick U.S. aircraft out of Shamsi. This time, they’ve sent the U.S. an eviction notice: clear out in 15 days. It’s a clear message: Kill our soldiers, and your drone war gets it. (Assuming the Pakistanis really do — finally — kick the U.S. out.)

But it’s not like losing Shamsi means the drones pack up and fly home. Most likely, they’ll migrate across the Afghanistan border, where big airbases at Jalalabad and Kandahar can serve as launchpads for drones and other U.S. warplanes hovering over the Pakistani tribal areas. The CIA already reportedly uses Jalalabad for precisely that reason; and Kandahar is the nesting ground for a super-secret stealth drone used in the Osama bin Laden raid. There are also rumors that the U.S. uses other Pakistani bases for the drone war. Losing Shamsi is an inconvenience for the drone war, not an endgame.

Read more: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/11/pakistan-airspace-drones/