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| India-Pakistan |
| 'No more drone strikes in Pakistan' |
| 2014-05-30 |
[DAWN] The CIA's assassination program in Pakistain, once the mainstay of President Barack ObamaIf you like your coverage you can keep it... 's counterterrorism effort, is winding down. Because of stricter rules, diplomatic sensitivities and the changing nature of the al Qaeda threat, there hasn't been a US drone strike in Pakistain's tribal areas since Christmas. And American officials say opportunities for drone attacks will dwindle further as the CIA and the military draw down in neighboring Afghanistan, reducing their intelligence-gathering footprint. "The program (in Pakistain) appears to have ended," said Peter Bergen, who has closely studied drone strikes for the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank. US officials won't go that far, but Obama announced this week a plan to pull nearly all American troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2016. The assassination program in Pakistain relies on drones flown from, and intelligence gathered in, US bases in Afghanistan that would then be closed. |
| Posted by:Fred |