A US drone attack targeted Islamic fighters in Pakistan’s tribal belt on Thursday, killing five militants including three Arabs. Some security officials said that it was the third drone attack in twenty-four hours. Another official said that two others were injured when two missiles struck a compound in Ismail Khel village in North Waziristan. The village is considered the premier fortress of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants on the Afghan border and the focus of a dramatic increase in US attacks. An official said that the five people killed were three Arabs, one Afghan and one local. Officials also said that it is not clear if there were any high-value targets in the casualties. The US considers Pakistan’s tribal belt an Al-Qaeda headquarters and many of the officials from that area say that the drone campaign is seen as integral to US-led efforts to turn around this nine-year Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.
It seems as if the Western officials think that the drone attacks are necessary to get the Taliban and Al-Qaeda out of Afghanistan. If they do, then that gives the US military the green light to go forth and continue with the drone attacks. The drone attacks themselves are sending a message to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Now that Western officials are agreeing that the drone campaign is integral and is needed to end the Taliban’s efforts, at least in Afghanistan, is just adding more to that message. The message is now saying that the US is coming for them-not that the US military has not been for nine years-, but also that they now have the support of Western officials to continue with the campaign to get the job done.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/203639/us-drone-attack-kills-five-in-pakistan-tribal-belt
3 comments:
The downside is that it is really pissing off the Pakistani government. They view it as an invasion of their sovereign state.
Another downside is the effect it has on the actual terrorist groups. Like I said in one of my other blogs, these attacks could push the Al-Qaeda and/or Taliban to a point of desperation, where all hell will break loose, making an even bigger mess than we're already in. Hopefully these drone attacks will get the job done, sooner than later.
I'm not even sure its possible to make a bigger mess of the situation.
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