No Deal: US Restarted Pakistan Drone Strikes Despite Objections

Called Pakistan to Tell Them Attacks Would Resume

by Jason Ditz, February 22, 2012

The resumption of US drone strikes against Pakistan’s tribal areas last month came amid rumors of ongoing negotiations with the Pakistani government, and a putative deal to keep the strikes to a minimum.

This appears not to have been the case, however, as new reports indicate that the US simply “informed” Pakistan that the drones would restart, and did so despite objections from the Pakistani government.

The US halted attacks after November 26, when US warplanes attacked two Pakistani military bases along the Afghan border, killing a number of soldiers. Pakistan warned afterwards that it would no longer allow the US unfettered access to their airspace, and even threatened to shoot down violators.

The claims of advanced notice agreements are not true either, as US officials say they won’t give Pakistan any warning ahead of attacks, saying they think Pakistan would warn the militants. They did say they would use ISI data for some of the attacks, however.

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