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India-Pakistan
DoD Diverts Drones From Afghanistan to Bolster CIA Campaign Next Door
2010-10-03
Very useful interactive graphics at the link. The Wall Street Journal's journalists really do understand how to organize information.
WASHINGTON--The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens.
Teamwork works. It looks like everybody in DC is taking this seriously.
The shift in strategic focus reflects the U.S. view that, with Pakistan's military unable or unwilling to do the job, more U.S. force against terrorist sanctuaries in Pakistan is now needed to turn around the struggling Afghan war effort across the border.

In recent months, the military has loaned Predator and Reaper drones to the Central Intelligence Agency to give the agency more firepower to target and bombard militants on the Afghan border.

The additional drones helped the CIA escalate the number of strikes in Pakistan in September. The agency averaged five strikes a week in September, up from an average of two to three per week. The Pentagon and CIA have ramped up their purchases of drones, but they aren't being built fast enough to meet the rapid rise in demand.

U.S. officials say a successful terrorist strike against the West emanating from Pakistan could force the U.S. to take unilateral military action--an outcome all parties are eager to avoid. U.S. officials said there is now less concern about upsetting the Pakistanis than there was a few months ago, and that the U.S. is being more aggressive in its response to immediate threats from across the border.

"You have to deal with the sanctuaries," Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D., Mass.) said after meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, in Washington this week. "I've pushed very, very hard with the Pakistanis regarding that."
He also phoned Prime Minister Gilani directly, according to this report in Dawn.
The secret deal to beef up the CIA's campaign inside Pakistan shows the extent to which military officials see the havens there, used by militants to plan and launch attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, as the primary obstacle to the Afghan war effort.

"When it comes to drones, there's no mission more important right now than hitting targets in the tribal areas, and that's where additional equipment's gone," a U.S. official said. "It's not the only answer, but it's critical to both homeland security and force protection in Afghanistan."

The idea of funneling military resources through the CIA was broached during last year's Afghanistan-Pakistan policy review, officials say. The shift in military resources was spearheaded by CIA Director Leon Panetta and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, a former CIA director himself. It also has the backing of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, and the new commander of allied forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus.

Mr. Gates helped smooth over initial dissent among some at the Pentagon who argued that the drones were needed in Afghanistan to attack the Taliban.

Since taking command in Afghanistan in July, Gen. Petraeus has placed greater focus on the tribal areas of Pakistan, according to military and other government officials.

The U.S. now sees the need for a stronger American push in Pakistan because of the growing belief that Pakistan isn't going to commit any more resources to fighting militants within its borders, said a former senior intelligence official. The Pakistani military is tapped out, the former official said. "They've gone as far as they can go."

U.S. officials are also increasingly frustrated by what they see as Islamabad's double-dealing. Some elements of the country's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency continue to support the Haqqanis as a hedge against India's regional influence, and the government has rebuffed U.S. calls for a crackdown on the group.

Gen. Petraeus has taken a hard line on the Haqqani network, calling them irreconcilable. He has also met with top Pakistani military leaders and presented intelligence tying the Haqqanis operating out of North Waziristan havens to attacks on U.S. and Afghan troops, according to a military official.
Posted by:

#4  OP, we couldn't field the crews and planes for 5 ARCLIGHT strikes a week. The only bombers left are a pitiful few B-52H (somewhere between 56 and 85), a few BONEs, and even fewer B-2s. More to the point, we would need air supremacy over the routes and target areas. Sad but true, in the age of Obama a few Hellfire Ps from Predators and Reaers are about the best we can do (or have the political will to do).
Posted by: rwv   2010-10-03 22:51  

#3  The more the terrorists protest, the more effective we know the strikes have been.
Posted by: Mike Hunt   2010-10-03 17:58  

#2  Amen and amen!
Posted by: Besoeker   2010-10-03 17:32  

#1  The agency averaged five strikes a week in September, up from an average of two to three per week.

I'll guarantee you that if we averaged five ARCLIGHT strikes a week for several months against the Tribal Regions, the muslims would already be suing for peace. These people ONLY believe in the strongest horse. We haven't committed ourselves to being that strong horse yet. Outside of using nukes, raining enough iron bombs down on peoples' heads has a way of "winning hearts and minds" through sheer fear. Muslims will NEVER love us, but if we're shown to be absolutely willing to crush an entire population to dust to put a stop to their behavior, they WILL respect us. It may be out of fear, but fear can be a very significant motivator at times.
Posted by: Old Patriot   2010-10-03 17:28  

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