Increased U.S. Drone Strikes in Pakistan Killing Few High-Value Militants

[tekisui]

Source: Washington Post

CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed at least 581 militants last year, according to independent estimates. The number of those militants noteworthy enough to appear on a U.S. list of most-wanted terrorists: two.

Despite a major escalation in the number of unmanned Predator strikes being carried out under the Obama administration, data from government and independent sources indicate that the number of high-ranking militants being killed as a result has either slipped or barely increased.

Even more generous counts - which indicate that the CIA killed as many as 13 "high-value targets" - suggest that the drone program is hitting senior operatives only a fraction of the time.

After a year in which the CIA carried out a record 118 drone strikes, costing more than $1 million apiece, the results have raised questions about the purpose and parameters of the campaign.

more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/20/AR2011022002975.html?hpid=topnews

____________________________________________

$118+ million for two off the most wanted list? What a waste.

[gratuitous]

1. At least $118 million to kill hundreds by remote control

We're really making a lot of withdrawals from the Karma bank. I wonder who's going to pay it all back, and will there be interest charged as well?

[Keith Bee]

2. But replacing the drones creates jobs in the M-IC

:sarcasm:

[kenny blankenship]

6. Those are the best drones in the world. We can't do a lot of things anymore

But we do drones better than anybody. In fact other countries are always saying we're perfect drones. I think they mean to say we perfected drones - but you know how the fine nuances of the English language always elude foreigners.

[EFerrari]

3. And who were those other 516 people killed by drones in PAKISTAN?

Are they militants because they're dead?

[tekisui]

4. IIRC, that isn't even the total number killed last year. So, likely, they

are militants because they are dead in addition to the civilians killed that aren't in that number. I'll see if I can track that number down. It seems like it was upwards of 1,000+.

[kenny blankenship]

5. -