CIA Using Military Drones in Pakistan

By Greg Miller
Washington Post
Posted: 10/02/2010 08:08:59 PM PDT
Updated: 10/02/2010 08:08:59 PM PDT

WASHINGTON -- The CIA is using an arsenal of armed drones and other equipment provided by the U.S. military to secretly escalate its operations in Pakistan by striking targets beyond the reach of American forces based in Afghanistan, U.S. officials said.

The merging of covert CIA operations and military firepower is part of a high-stakes attempt by the Obama administration to deal decisive blows to Taliban insurgents who have regained control of swaths of territory in Afghanistan but stage most of their operations from sanctuaries across that country's eastern border.

The move represents a signification evolution of an already controversial targeted killing program run by the CIA. The agency's drone program began as a sporadic effort to kill members of the al-Qaida terrorist network, but in the past month, it has been delivering what amounts to a cross-border bombing campaign in coordination with conventional military operations a few miles away.

The campaign continued Saturday amid reports that two new CIA drone strikes had killed 16 militants in northwest Pakistan, following 22 such attacks last month.

The strategy shift carries significant risks, particularly if it is perceived as an end run around the Pakistan government's long-standing objections to American military operations within its domain.

Indeed, the surge in drone strikes over the past four weeks has to a large extent targeted elements of a network led by Jalaluddin

Haqqani, a militant regarded as a close ally of Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.

Officials said last week that some of the recent strikes have also been aimed at disrupting al-Qaida terror plots targeting Europe.

A U.S. official said the State Department was weighing whether to issue an alert that would caution Americans to be "vigilant" when traveling in Europe -- guidance that could come as soon as Sunday.

The U.S. military quietly has been providing Predator and Reaper drones, as well as other weaponry, to the CIA in an effort to give the agency more capacity to carry out lethal strikes in Pakistan, American officials said.

"Increasing the operational tempo against terrorists in Pakistan has been in the works since last year," a U.S. official said. "The CIA sought more resources to go after terrorists in Pakistan, which the White House strongly supported."

The official added that Defense Secretary Robert Gates and CIA Director Leon Panetta "worked closely together to expand the effort. The foundation for the latest intensification of strikes was laid then, and the results speak for themselves."

http://www.mercurynews.com/california/c ... ck_check=1