News
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Obama defends drone strikes in PakistanWASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama has confirmed for the first time that US drones have targeted Taliban and al Qaeda militants on the Pakistani soil, a programme that has escalated under his administration.
Asked about drones in a chat with web users, Obama said, “A lot of these strikes have been in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).”
“For the most part, they’ve been very precise precision strikes against al Qaeda and their affiliates, and we’re very careful in terms of how its been applied,” Obama said.
“This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases, and so on.”
He said that many strikes were carried out “on al Qaeda operatives in places where the capacities of that military in that country may not be able to get them”, such as Pakistan’s lawless tribal zone.
“For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we’re already engaging in.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Tuesday acknowledged “tactical advantages” to US drone strikes on the Taliban and al Qaeda, but appeared to shrug off the unexpected confirmation by Washington of attacks on its soil.
“Notwithstanding tactical advantages of drone strikes, we are of the firm view that these are unlawful, counterproductive and hence unacceptable,” Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit told AFP in a text message.
The New America Foundation think tank in Washington says drone strikes in Pakistan have killed between 1,715 and 2,680 people in the past eight years.
Human rights campaigners have expressed deep concern over increased use of drone strikes. The State Department also confirmed it used surveillance drones to protect US diplomats in so-called “critical threat environments” overseas. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk