Simon Cameron-Moore writing for Reuters notes that the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan was summoned to Islamabad to protest over recent drone attacks. Moore notes that:

“Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani called the missile attacks “intolerable” and voiced hope President-elect Barack Obama’s government would show more restraint.”These kinds of acts are counter-productive … it adds to our problems,” Gilani said, adding he was sure when “Obama’s government is formed, these attacks will be controlled.”

There can be little doubt that use of these drones are harming U.S.-Pakistani relations and weakening the democratic government of that troubled country. Again, I am not suggesting an absolute ban on the strike drones but there needs to be a recognition that their use for anything other than the top 2-3 Al Qaeda targets is proving to be highly problematic. The use of these strike drones is causing instability in Pakistan – that is a fact we must address.

No related posts.