You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
India-Pakistan
Surprise: Pakistan Says Fewer Civilians Died by Drones
2013-11-04
It's a NYT article, hence not quoted.

But this is what Walter Russell Mead sed:
Pakistan's Ministry of Defense has provided its first official figures for casualties from drone strikes, and they are surprisingly low. In the 318 drone strikes the US has conducted since 2008, when the program really hit its stride, 2,227 people have been killed, and only 3 percent, or 67 people, were civilians. Many human rights organizations' figures are much higher, as were the Pakistani government's previous figures. UN rapporteur Ben Emmerson, who has investigated the drone program in Pakistan, has said that the Pakistan Foreign Office gave him a figure of 400 civilians.

There is no reason to believe that these figures are any more credible than other data out there, and that is largely Pakistan's fault. It does not allow anyone to enter North Waziristan, the region where the Haqqani network and other militants are based, and where drones have primarily operated. It has not allowed independent investigators or journalists to do their jobs, and has been mum about its involvement there. Pakistani leaders whip up anti-Americanism whenever it's convenient, but a Washington Post report earlier this month highlighted Pakistan's role in facilitating the drone program, even suggesting targets in some cases. That is this the first time that the government has released casualty figures, despite the drone program running for years now.

One thing is certain: the drone program will continue as the US sees fit. Only a few hours after this story broke, there was another drone strike in North Wazirstan's district capital Miram Shah, killing 3.
Posted by:Pappy

#5  Ya mean Que Surpise???

Pakland once again admits sthat the overwhelming majority or bulk of personages killed or injured by drones are - wait for it - de facto Militants = Bad Boyz, + that the drones are doing what they're supposed to be doing, i.e. kill Militants, albeit not widout some "non/
imperfect" occurrence of collateral civilian casualties whom were likely relatives or associates of the deceased, + also being deliber used as "human shields" by same.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-11-04 22:58  

#4  He must have contracted the reporting to the OMB.

Mr. Mead's comments are based the NYT's article, whose numbers were pulled from Pakistan's report.

I used Mr. Mead's comments instead of the NYT's for the reason I highlighted at the beginning of the article.
Posted by: Pappy   2013-11-04 14:29  

#3  "...only 3 percent, or 67 people, were civilians"

That's about a month's worth in Chicago.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2013-11-04 04:26  

#2  He must have contracted the reporting to the OMB. An upward revision will no doubt be forthcoming on a Friday afternoon, a week or two from now. UN rapporteurs will not be mocked.
Posted by: Besoeker   2013-11-04 01:00  

#1  Yup, the terrorists are much diminished, not gone, but thinned out.
Few terrorists, fewer misses, as well the fakes are dead too.
I remember they pulled a child out of the freezer regularly, and screamed THE AMERICANS KILLED THIS INNOCENT CHILD for a while there.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-11-04 00:55  

00:00