‘Unprecedented’ Drone Assault: 58 Strikes in 102 Days

[tekisui]

Source: Wired

It may take years, but some researcher will travel to Pakistan’s tribal areas and produce a definitive study on what it’s been like to live amidst an aerial bombardment from American pilotless aircraft. When that account inevitably comes out, it’s likely to find that 2010 — and especially the final quarter of 2010 — marked a turning point in how civilians coped with a drone war that turned relentless.

Even as the Obama administration’s assessment of its war strategy nodded to the primacy of the CIA’s drone campaign, Predators underscored the point. Over the past two days, four Predators or Reapers fired their missiles at suspected militants in North Waziristan, with three of the strikes coming early today.

They represent a geographic expansion of the drone war. Today’s strikes come in Khyber, an area abutting Afghanistan’s Nangahar province, that’s been notably drone-free. It has become an area for militants fleeing military action in South Waziristan to take succor.

They also bring the drone-strike tally for this year up to 113, more than twice last year’s 53 strikes. But those figures don’t begin to tell the whole story.

According to a tally kept by the Long War Journal, 58 of those strikes have come since September: There has been a drone attack every 1.8 days since Labor Day. LWJ’s Bill Roggio says the pace of attacks between September and November (there was a brief December respite, now erased) is “unprecedented since the U.S. began the air campaign in Pakistan in 2004.” (By contrast, in 2008, there were just 34 strikes.)

more: http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/12/unprecedented-drone-strikes-hit-pakistan-in-late-2010/

[Octafish]

1. Yes We Can!

And one of these days we'll get that Osama fellow.

Too bad about the other 170 million people Pakistanis who had to die first.

In the meantime, though, someone made a HELL of a lot of money.

[malaise]

5. They don't care who dies

I'd like to know if the strikes coincide with the route for the oil pipeline.

[crikkett]

24. Bingo~!

[msongs]

2. ya suppose unprovoked civilian killing attacks on sovereign states are war crimes? nt

[kenny blankenship]

3. I support President Bush's efforts to keep us safe and free.

[obxhead]

9. I appreciate the sarcasm

Obama owns this extreme escalation of drone strikes though. Yes Bush did start the program. Obama decided to take it to a whole new level though.

[AwareOne]

4. Like a futuristic horror story

One villager described the drones attacking in packs, as many a six in the air at once. They watch his village night and day and people are afraid to leave their homes. The latest strikes killed 54 people. Merry Christmas!

[soryang]

6. Think of all the profits!

The casualty figures are complete bs. The number of innocent civilians killed is huge. The average American couldn't find a place to pee in central Asia let alone a "terrorist." But it doesn't matter defense contractors are making billions and egomaniac politicians and generals are extending their "footprint."

[alex cross]

7. But at least openly gay military personnel will be able to

remotely operate our killing machines now.

So we got that goin' for us.

Thank YOU Mr. President!

[Lorien]

22. Woot!

Lather, rinse, repeat.

[obxhead]

8. This strategy is no different than a police officer

shooting first and then asking a suspect to put his hands up.

It's stupid and innocent people are being killed. It is not a strategy that will win hearts and minds.

[tekisui]

10. You are right. It is a strategy that will radicalize and

create more hate and more terrorists. More chickens will come home to roost.

[PhillySane]

12. Every drone attack probably generates 100 new Al Qua eda applicants

It only serves to escalate this thing.

[WonderGrunion]

11. I approve, this is how General Clark won the Bosnian conflict

Death from above with no casualties on our side. The demoralization of the enemy in this manner ends the conflict more quickly.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[former9thward]

17. Please read some history of WW II (and of Bosnia).

There was massive bombing of civilian areas by all sides in WW II and none of it caused the civilian populations to call for an end to the war. In fact just the opposite occurred as the population became more determined against the bombers whether it was the population of London, Berlin Dresden, Tokyo or any other area with massive civilian deaths.

Unlike Bosnia, in Pakistan for the first time in history, a civilian intelligence agency is using robots to carry out a military mission, selecting people for killing in a country where the United States is not officially at war.

Your history is totally wrong. Predators were used in Bosnia as reconnaissance. They did not have missile firing capabilities. The first Predator to be able to fire missiles was tested in 2001 well after the Bosnian conflict.

[WonderGrunion]

18. We used airstrikes to win Bosnia

That the flights were manned and not drones really makes little difference.

[former9thward]

19. What makes a difference is those flights were military flights.

The drones in Pakistan are primarily operated by civilian intelligence personnel. That has never happened in history. Also the Bosnian adventure at least had the imprint of a UN/NATO sanctioned operation. We are not at war with Pakistan and our war against the civilians in that country has been sanctioned by no one including Congress.

Your history of Bosnia is lacking also. What turned that area into relative peace was 60,000 U.S./NATO troops on the ground. Of course that was after genocide had been practiced for several years so I am not sure if the people of that region have the same definition of "win" that you do.

[frylock]

21. we should have them right where we want them in another ten years or so

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

13. Killing is PC now that our guy is in charge of it.

[Karmadillo]

14. I see another Nobel in the Peace Laureate's future!

nt

[tekisui]

16. Kick for the unrecs!

[frylock]

20. ands biden call assange the high-tech terrorist

[Rex]

23. So that explains the 300 billion dollar increase in defense spending!

We liek the results and want to order a million more death drones!

[lonestarnot]

25. Orders for drones/new contracts up.