Clueless
Posted by lex, on February 13, 2009
The ongoing use of Predator and Reaper drones to target senior al Qaeda and Taliban leadership in northwest Pakistan is deeply inflammatory to Pakistani popular opinion, who believe that the UAVs are a violation of their country’s sovereignty and that innocents are often caught up in the pinpoint attacks. The Pakistani government routinely issues denunciations against these attacks, but their protests are largely seen as a pro forma sop to the masses, since the government has at last become aware of the strategic threat the terrorist pose to Pakistan. The government is an awkward spot, since using national security forces and the army are a two-edged sword – there are elements within both the military and ISI that actively support al Qaeda and the various Islamic militants that make Pakistan a home. Nor is the Pakistani military trained or equipped for counter-insurgency, having long preferred to prepare to repel an Indian assault across the Punjabi plains.
So we have reached a kind of delicate consensus with Pakistan: They will pretend to protest when we do their work for them. We will pretend to listen.