US Drone strikes in Pakistan are illegal under international law.

[abdulrafi]

12 killed in US drone attack in Orakzai Agency

Updated at: 1055 PST, Wednesday, April 01, 2009

ORAKZAI AGENCY: Twelve militants have been killed and several injured in US drone attack on militants’ hideout in Orakzai Agency on Wednesday.

According to sources, US drone fired missiles on suspect hideout of militants in Khadzai area.

At least 12 people have been killed and as many wounded in the attack. A huge blast creates panic among local residents.

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US strike kills up to 12 militants in Pakistan
1 April 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – A suspected US drone fired two missiles into an alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda training centre in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing up to 12 militants, security officials said.

The strike was the first reported attack from a pilotless US aircraft since President Barack Obama last week unveiled a sweeping new strategy desgined to defeat Islamist militants holed up in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.

The missiles struck the suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda den, 25 kilometres (16 miles) northeast of Hangu in the semi-autonomous Orakzai tribal region, an extremist stronghold in northwest Pakistan, a security official said.

"Twelve militants were killed in two missile attacks... on a training centre run by Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

"Some foreigners are believed to be among those killed," the official added.

Pakistani officials use the word "foreigner" in reference to suspected Al-Qaeda fighters, but the precise identities of the dead was not confirmed.

Members of the hardline Taliban movement told AFP that "some guests" had been staying at the building -- in another reference to foreign militants.

Militants said that up to 10 people were killed at what they called a local Taliban office in Orakzai.

A local security official also said up to 10 militants died when the centre at Khadayzai village, in the remote and mountainous district, was hit by a missile fired from a pilotless aircraft.

"Six bodies and 15 injured have been brought to hospital," Doctor Qaseem Gul told AFP from a hospital in the nearby rural town of Ghaljo.

More than 35 such strikes have killed over 340 people since August 2008, shortly before key Washington ally President Asif Ali Zardari was elected, fanning hostility against the weak Pakistani government and the United States.

The US military as a rule does not confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Wednesday's attack was the eighth missile strike in Pakistan blamed on unmanned US aircraft since Obama came to power, squashing Pakistani hopes that his administration would abandon the tactic.

Pakistan has protested to Washington that drone strikes violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed nation.

The lawless tribal areas in northwest Pakistan have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Source: AFP

 

[osamaziadxb]

Suspected US strike kills up to 12 militants in Pakistan
1 April 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – A suspected US drone fired two missiles into an alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda training centre in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing up to 12 militants, security officials said.

The strike was the first reported attack from a pilotless US aircraft since President Barack Obama last week unveiled a sweeping new strategy desgined to defeat Islamist militants holed up in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.

The missiles struck the suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda den, 25 kilometres (16 miles) northeast of Hangu in the semi-autonomous Orakzai tribal region, an extremist stronghold in northwest Pakistan, a security official said.

"Twelve militants were killed in two missile attacks... on a training centre run by Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

"Some foreigners are believed to be among those killed," the official added.

Pakistani officials use the word "foreigner" in reference to suspected Al-Qaeda fighters, but the precise identities of the dead was not confirmed.

Members of the hardline Taliban movement told AFP that "some guests" had been staying at the building -- in another reference to foreign militants.

Militants said that up to 10 people were killed at what they called a local Taliban office in Orakzai.

A local security official also said up to 10 militants died when the centre at Khadayzai village, in the remote and mountainous district, was hit by a missile fired from a pilotless aircraft.

"Six bodies and 15 injured have been brought to hospital," Doctor Qaseem Gul told AFP from a hospital in the nearby rural town of Ghaljo.

More than 35 such strikes have killed over 340 people since August 2008, shortly before key Washington ally President Asif Ali Zardari was elected, fanning hostility against the weak Pakistani government and the United States.

The US military as a rule does not confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Wednesday's attack was the eighth missile strike in Pakistan blamed on unmanned US aircraft since Obama came to power, squashing Pakistani hopes that his administration would abandon the tactic.

Pakistan has protested to Washington that drone strikes violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed nation.

The lawless tribal areas in northwest Pakistan have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Source: AFP

actually no one wants to listen tribesmen..what the officials r saying may not b true..sure.bcz they r not the permanant resident of the zone..
we xept that there r lot of taliban present in FATA but this is GOP's head ek not US.
killing militants like this wil produce hostility against GOP ..leave US..we already Hate it

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

actually no one wants to listen tribesmen..what the officials r saying willbe not true..sure.bcz they r not the permanant resident of the zone..
we xept that there r lot of taliban present in FATA but this is GOP's head ek not US.

The reports on the last strike that I posted were from a Pakistani newspaper quoting Tribal sources and confirming that those killed were militants.

In this report we only have one official confirming militant casualties, but by tomorrow the Pakistani papers may have more sources confirming or denying the stated casualties so lets wait and see.

killing militants like this wil produce hostility against GOP ..leave US..we already Hate it

The militants are already hostile to Pakistan - surely you read about Mehsud and his affiliates taking responsibility for the Lahore and Islamabad attacks.

The mosque bombing is also a reminder of the 'hostility' towards Pakistan some groups in FATA have.

 

[osamaziadxb]

The reports on the last strike that I posted were from a Pakistani newspaper quoting Tribal sources and confirming that those killed were militants.

In this report we only have one official confirming militant casualties, but by tomorrow the Pakistani papers may have more sources confirming or denying the stated casualties so lets wait and see.

The militants are already hostile to Pakistan - surely you read about Mehsud and his affiliates taking responsibility for the Lahore and Islamabad attacks.

The mosque bombing is also a reminder of the 'hostility' towards Pakistan some groups in FATA have.

actually i dont want to say that killing these talibans r not good..i want to say that drones attack should not allow the attacks in Pakistan.
the tribesmen r saying that Pak army's operation is making a little sense but who is US who did this..
US r condemning Talibans attack but they dont want to obey any rule itself ..y?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

actually i dont want to say that killing these talibans r not good..i want to say that drones attack should not allow the attacks in Pakistan.
the tribesmen r saying that Pak army's operation is making a little sense but who is US who did this..
US r condemning Talibans attack but they dont want to obey any rule itself ..y?

I agree with you that it should be the PA that is conducting these operations, however, the Taliban groups in the Waziristan's are arguably the strongest ones in the region. Going after them will be very hard - just look at what the PA had to deal with in Bajaur.

I do not think the PA feels like it can employ enough resources to ensure a decisive victory without denuding the Eastern borders.

I imagine some role will be played by the US in engaging with India to bring about an environment in which the PA might be able to put enough resources into FATA.

The alternative is to allow the FC capacity building program to continue and plug the gaps. Till one of the above happens, the drone strikes seem feasible, as long as collateral damage remains minimal.

 

[Solomon2]

I agree with you that it should be the PA that is conducting these operations, however, the Taliban groups in the Waziristan's are arguably the strongest ones in the region. Going after them will be very hard - just look at what the PA had to deal with in Bajaur.

I do not think the PA feels like it can employ enough resources to ensure a decisive victory without denuding the Eastern borders.

I do not understand. The PA may be without missile-equipped UAVs, but it does have attack bombers that can patrol the area. The PA is far stronger than the Taliban, or U.S. forces for that matter. What am I missing?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I do not understand. The PA may be without missile-equipped UAVs, but it does have attack bombers that can patrol the area. The PA is far stronger than the Taliban, or U.S. forces for that matter. What am I missing?

I am not sure whether the bombers the PAF has can be as precise as the missiles from the drones - collateral damage is obviously an issue.

Secondly, as I said above, whether the GoP uses drones or bombers, it will essentially mean that it is in full fledged war with the Taliban, which will likely result in an escalation in attacks against the PA by groups that have held to a 'loose ceasefire'. That would inevitably mean a full fledged military operation such as in Bajaur, which leads to the resources issue.

 

[Ratus Ratus]

I do not understand. The PA may be without missile-equipped UAVs, but it does have attack bombers that can patrol the area. The PA is far stronger than the Taliban, or U.S. forces for that matter. What am I missing?

The PAF is not in a position to use planes as eyes in the sky to happily bomb something that may or may not be seen.

What you miss in some respect is something called WILL, this both political and in many directions military.

Numbers are not an issue it is the underlying training for the needed conflict style, which the PA does not have and the FC is only going to get so many CI trained anyway.

Rose tinted glasses at this point of Pakistan’s history are a good thing to wear.

 

[Ratus Ratus]

Secondly, as I said above, whether the GoP uses drones or bombers, it will essentially mean that it is in full fledged war with the Taliban, which will likely result in an escalation in attacks against the PA by groups that have held to a 'loose ceasefire'. That would inevitably mean a full fledged military operation such as in Bajaur, which leads to the resources issue.

AM I truly enjoy your sense of optimism that you extrude with respect to the happenings in this part of Pakistan.

What is going to happen in this place is a straight forward full fledged war if Pakistan wants to hold any intension of sovereignty on these regions.
Trying to skirt the issue by some “agreements” and such will get you into a total SHole.

It will be a slow and hard slog all the way through. The quicker people realise this and start planning the better for all.

But what the heck, you have a bunch of wimps as a govt and they are all too busy looking after number 1, ie themselves.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

What is going to happen in this place is a straight forward full fledged war if Pakistan wants to hold any intension of sovereignty on these regions.
Trying to skirt the issue by some “agreements” and such will get you into a total SHole.

It will be a slow and hard slog all the way through. The quicker people realise this and start planning the better for all.

But what the heck, you have a bunch of wimps as a govt and they are all too busy looking after number 1, ie themselves.

No optimistic assessments on how we will retake those areas on my part - I said as much in my posts above, when I referenced what the PA had to do in Bajaur and how regaining control of the Waziristan's would be even harder.

I am not in the military, but the way I understand this situation, going by the conflict in Bajaur, COIN skills are not necessarily what will be needed to initially regain control.

COIN will come into play once we have a situation like the current Bajaur, Mohmand, Khyber environments.

Waziristan will be, like Bajaur, largely a conventional slog against thousands of dug in Taliban, also employing guerrilla tactics. COIN will come into play in the second phase of the conflict IMO.

largely agree on the political leadership. Still lacking a coherent plan going forward.

 

[Metallic]

Suspected US strike kills up to 12 militants in Pakistan
1 April 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – A suspected US drone fired two missiles into an alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda training centre in northwest Pakistan on Wednesday, killing up to 12 militants, security officials said.

The strike was the first reported attack from a pilotless US aircraft since President Barack Obama last week unveiled a sweeping new strategy desgined to defeat Islamist militants holed up in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan.

The missiles struck the suspected Taliban and Al-Qaeda den, 25 kilometres (16 miles) northeast of Hangu in the semi-autonomous Orakzai tribal region, an extremist stronghold in northwest Pakistan, a security official said.

"Twelve militants were killed in two missile attacks... on a training centre run by Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to release the information.

"Some foreigners are believed to be among those killed," the official added.

Pakistani officials use the word "foreigner" in reference to suspected Al-Qaeda fighters, but the precise identities of the dead was not confirmed.

Members of the hardline Taliban movement told AFP that "some guests" had been staying at the building -- in another reference to foreign militants.

Militants said that up to 10 people were killed at what they called a local Taliban office in Orakzai.

A local security official also said up to 10 militants died when the centre at Khadayzai village, in the remote and mountainous district, was hit by a missile fired from a pilotless aircraft.

"Six bodies and 15 injured have been brought to hospital," Doctor Qaseem Gul told AFP from a hospital in the nearby rural town of Ghaljo.

More than 35 such strikes have killed over 340 people since August 2008, shortly before key Washington ally President Asif Ali Zardari was elected, fanning hostility against the weak Pakistani government and the United States.

The US military as a rule does not confirm drone attacks but the armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operating in Afghanistan are the only forces that deploy drones in the region.

Wednesday's attack was the eighth missile strike in Pakistan blamed on unmanned US aircraft since Obama came to power, squashing Pakistani hopes that his administration would abandon the tactic.

Pakistan has protested to Washington that drone strikes violate its territorial sovereignty and deepen resentment among the 160 million people of the nuclear-armed nation.

The lawless tribal areas in northwest Pakistan have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Source: AFP

*** UPDATE *** Some more INFO:

U.S. expands Pakistani drone-strike zone; 12 dead
1 April 2009

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) - A pilotless U.S. drone fired a missile at a Taliban compound in Pakistan's Orakzai region on Wednesday, killing 12 people in the first such attack in the area, a security official and residents said.

The raid came a day after Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud said his group had carried out an assault on a police training center in the eastern city of Lahore in retaliation for U.S. drone attacks.

The missile hit a compound of a Taliban commander loyal to Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, and 12 people were killed and 13 wounded.

Hakimullah Mehsud later spoke to Reuters and said six of his fighters were among the dead. He vowed revenge.

"This wasn't a minor thing. The pain of this attack will be felt in Islamabad," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

He did not elaborate but said his men would not give up their fight: "Let the Americans use all their drones, we'll fight them on the battlefield."

Another Taliban official who declined to be identified said an Arab militant known as Kaka was also killed in the attack.

The United States, frustrated by an intensifying insurgency in Afghanistan getting support from the Pakistani side of the border, began launching more drone attacks last year.

Since then, more than 30 U.S. strikes have killed about 300 people, including mid-level al Qaeda members, according to reports from Pakistani officials, residents and militants.

Pakistan objects to the strikes. Officials say about one in six of the strikes over the past year caused civilian deaths without killing any militants, and that fuels anti-U.S. sentiment, complicating the military's struggle to subdue violence.

The concentration of strikes in Waziristan was also pushing some militants eastwards, deeper into Pakistan, officials say.

Orakzai has been one of Pakistan's most peaceful Pashtun regions but Taliban are known to have infiltrated the area, as they have done elsewhere in the northwest.

U.S. officials say success in Afghanistan is impossible without tackling militant enclaves in northwest Pakistan, where Taliban battling Western forces rest, regroup and train, and al Qaeda plots violence.

U.S. President Barack Obama announced a review of policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan last week, vowing to tackle militants in the ungoverned Pakistani border areas.

The New York Times said last month the United States was considering expanding its covert war to Baluchistan, a sprawling province of deserts and jagged mountains on the border of violence-plagued southern Afghanistan.

About 150 clerics and elders from Taliban leader Mehsud's tribe held a protest in the town of Tank, in North West Frontier Province, to condemn the drone strikes.

One cleric, Hassam-ud-din, told the crowd the government approved the U.S. strikes but should stop them immediately.

The government denies reports it has quietly given permission for the strikes and that the drones are launched from a secret air strip in Pakistan.

Early last year, the United States stopped forewarning Pakistan about the strikes because of suspicion some Pakistani agents were tipping off militants they regarded as assets.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

"This wasn't a minor thing. The pain of this attack will be felt in Islamabad," he said by telephone from an undisclosed location.

Well, apparently no 'innocent civilians' killed in this one since he seems pretty ticked off, though it could be because he has been targeted for the first time. Could also be some important leaders in his or affiliated organizations.

The GoP isn't going to keep up the 'plausible denial' for very long with the TTP. They barely maintain the ceasefire as it is. Hopefully we are prepared for the onslaught.

 

[Rajkumar]

I am not sure whether the bombers the PAF has can be as precise as the missiles from the drones - collateral damage is obviously an issue.

Secondly, as I said above, whether the GoP uses drones or bombers, it will essentially mean that it is in full fledged war with the Taliban, which will likely result in an escalation in attacks against the PA by groups that have held to a 'loose ceasefire'. That would inevitably mean a full fledged military operation such as in Bajaur, which leads to the resources issue.

man problem of PA is not absence of precise missile but lack of political will of GOP because sooner or later you have drive out these thugs and extremists. Full fledged war is on you ,weather you risk it or not. Later the hour of war harder it will be.

 

[fatman17]

opinion: No laws for drones —Brian Cloughley

Obama’s policy is clear: drone-launched missile attacks will continue inside the territory of any nation because he considers that international custom and law do not apply to America. He is endorsing a dreadful precedent, and may well come to regret his decision to permit these illegal forays

During the Bush regime, we became accustomed to the United States dealing contemptuously with the world. Patronising insults and brutal military assaults were the norm, and no attention was paid to those who protested against destruction of people and property if these were in some manner deemed a threat in the absurd ‘war on terror’. Bush’s Washington thought it had a heaven-sent right to declare that countries were “with us or against us”, and Israel, which was especially “with us”, had total support for its vicious treatment of the Palestinian people.

When Barack Obama was elected president, it was expected that the era of the kill-crazy cowboys would end. The CIA would be reined in and illegal killings within the territory of foreign nations would cease. There would be an end to torture as state policy, and international law and custom would apply — and respect for America would at least be partially restored.

As if to underline a new approach, it was announced that in Iraq, an unarmed Iranian surveillance drone was shot down by US aircraft on February 25. Quite right, too: it had no right to fly over a foreign country. That was a gross violation of national sovereignty.

Alas for even-handedness, in an equally blatant violation of another nation’s autonomy, armed US drones continue their unlawful intrusions into Pakistan’s airspace, killing at will. As reported in the Guardian, “Sources in the US administration confirmed that the White House has received recommendations from the military about an escalation in the use of the CIA’s unmanned drones to launch missile attacks [in Pakistan].”

So much for international decency. Protests from Islamabad are ignored — although these may not be genuine. Perhaps they are a matter of form, covering up an agreement that the CIA drones can continue to kill people on Pakistan’s soil. We don’t know about this — but if American fighters can shoot down a foreign drone over Iraq, why can’t Pakistan’s fighters shoot down foreign drones over Pakistan?

The Pakistan Air Force is capable of shooting down any intruder in a heartbeat. So why doesn’t it do so? After all, the then Chief of Air Staff said last year that “First this nation, you [media] people, our parliament, our government, has to debate how we have to engage the foreign UAVs, whether we have to engage them diplomatically and politically to resolve it, or engage them militarily.” That is concise. But US drones continue their missile attacks in Pakistan.

The people killed illegally by the US within Pakistan could well have been evil. The world may be a better place for their being blasted to unidentifiable blood-streaked gobbets of flesh by CIA missiles. But we don’t know, because no evidence is ever provided by the killers. They say they know who is guilty (in their terms); so act as judge, jury and executioner.

But that is not the whole point: the problem is that if one country, no matter how righteous (or self-righteous), is allowed by the rest of the world to act in this manner, without reference or deference to the elected government of the nation it targets, the slide to global anarchy is made easier. You can’t have different laws and standards for different countries.

The UN Charter is precise. Article 2(4) states that “All Members shall refrain...from the threat or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.”

It couldn’t be made more clear, as it was during a TV talk show last week, when Ahmer Bilal Soofi, an expert in international law, said much the same, and pointed out that US domestic legislation authorising military action against 9/11 terrorists has no relevance internationally.

In the Bush years, the UN Organisation was weakened immensely by Washington’s dismissive treatment of its ideals and purposes. And certainly the UN is a markedly imperfect organisation. Many General Assembly performances are more Disney than dialogue. But this does not mean that the world’s most powerful country should demonstrate immature frustration by flouting international conventions. UN member nations are accountable to the world at large; and the more powerful they are, the deeper their responsibilities. This should be the basis of civilised international relations.

So what next in international terms concerning drone killings in Pakistan by American agencies?

Following the raid into Sudan in January by armed Israeli drones and the killing of an unknown number of people allegedly conveying weapons towards Palestine, Israel’s corrupt and shortly to be ex-prime minister said that “We operate in every area where terrorist infrastructures can be struck... Everyone can use their imagination... Those who need to know are aware that there is no place that Israel can’t reach.” So Israel, too, believes it has the right to kill people within the territory of sovereign nations. And nobody dare criticise this evil state for its actions.

India operates Israeli drones and is receiving more. It is possible it could obtain missile-firing Hermes 450s, like the ones that blitzed Sudan and Gaza. And if India believes that there is an installation in Pakistan whose occupants it considers to be terrorists, will it then follow the American example and launch drone-borne missiles to kill people on Pakistan’s soil? What would Mr Obama say about that? Would he condemn the action?

President Obama declared last week that “we will insist that action be taken — one way or another — when we have intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.” His policy is clear: drone-launched missile attacks will continue inside the territory of any nation because he considers that international custom and law do not apply to America. He is endorsing a dreadful precedent, and may well come to regret his decision to permit these illegal forays.

Brian Cloughley’s book about the Pakistan army, War, Coups and Terror, has just been published by Pen & Sword Books (UK) and is distributed in Pakistan by Saeed Book Bank

http:///www.dailytimes.com.pk