In an interview released yesterday, journalist Jane Mayer brought renewed attention to the Obama Administration’s decision to allow the Pakistani military to choose some of the targets of American drone attacks inside the nation.
Mayer attributed the decision to the killing of Baitullah Mehsud in August and cited Rehman Malik, Pakistan’s Interior Minister, bragging about the accuracy of the American drones, which officially his government has denied having any role in.
The admission is somewhat damning and the Pakistani media is understandably excited about it, but while the details are new the story is not. In fact it has been known since at least early May that the Obama Administration was sharing surveillance data from drones with Pakistan’s military and encouraging them to help pick targets.
But America’s drone war in Pakistan has killed a large number of civilians, well over 100 since Obama took office, and that is sparking increasing outrage among Pakistanis, as demonstrated during Hillary Clinton’s visit last week. Presumably some of that outrage should be directed at their own government, which is calling at least some of the shots.
Does Peace Laureate Obama have his mercenaries put training wheels on the drones to help the Pakistanis with their learning?
obama – hey pakistan im real sorry Hillary was so mean to you … you wana ice cream cone… no …. you wana some pizza ? …no
ok how about we let you pick who we kill… you wana pick our next murder target huh? sure you do! who a good Pakistan whos a good Pakistan..you are.. just dont tell india
That was really big of Barack, don't you think? If our war partners are going to feel like they have some skin in the game, it's only fair that we let them select the targets occasionally. President Obama: the equal opportunity killer.
Pakistanis get to pick some of the targets? Man! You'd almost think it was their country getting bombed! Oh wait, it is. Try to imagine the situation in reverse. The leader of Pakistan allowing the Pentagon to pick which parts of the U.S. southwest the Pakistanis are going to bomb. Almost surreal.