U.S. Still Has Options For Drones If Denied Use Of Pakistani Bases -- Washington Times
U.S. military forces will still be able to target al Qaeda terrorists in mountainous Southwest Asia with remotely piloted drones based in Afghanistan should Pakistan’s government deny the use of its territory to launch attacks.
Col. Dean Bushey, deputy director of the Army’s Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence, told an international-relations conference Wednesday that U.S. Reaper and Predator aircraft could still reach the “mountainous regions” of Pakistan without being based in that country.
“Our assets from Afghanistan have a long enough flight time to do it,” he told the conference, sponsored by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
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My Comment: Pakistani participation in anti-terrorism operations in the past have been spotty. Top Al Qaeda leaders have been captured, but others have been tipped off on U.S. operations .... hence the U.S. reluctance for sharing UAV intelligence with Pakistan. While UAV operations can be conducted from Afghanistan, continued drone attacks and civilian casualties will only inflame what is already a tense and hostile environment for both Pakistan and the U.S. .... an environment that will only get worse if Pakistan decides to vocally condemned future attacks.
Photo: Two Predators were already being used above Libya for intelligence and reconnaissance missions
