Pakistani General, in Twist, Credits U.S. Drone Strikes

[sonicboom]

Pakistani General, in Twist, Credits U.S. Drone Strikes

By SALMAN MASOOD
Published: March 9, 2011

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In an unusual briefing, a top Pakistani general leading troops in the volatile North Waziristan region has acknowledged the effectiveness of the American drone strikes against foreign militants, according to reports in the local media.

The attacks by the American drones, operated by the C.I.A., are immensely controversial in the country and are often attributed as one of the major reasons of a surge in anti-American sentiment.

Publicly, the Pakistani government and the powerful military condemn the drone strikes, though privately they acknowledge their utility. It is rare for civilian or military officials to give any nod to the effectiveness of the campaign, and the controversy surrounding the drone strikes has become a staple of the national debate. Opposition political parties and Islamists call the drone attacks a violation of the country’s sovereignty and question their legality.

Dawn, considered the country’s leading English-language daily, quoted Maj. Gen. Mehmood Ghayur of the army’s Seventh division in North Waziristan, as saying that “myths and rumors about U.S. Predator strikes and the casualty figures are many, but it’s a reality that many of those being killed in these strikes are hardcore elements, a sizable number of them foreigners.”

The general was briefing a group of local Peshawar-based journalists on a rare trip to Miram Shah, the main city in North Waziristan.

According to details listed in the general’s briefing and quoted by Dawn, militants of several nationalities have been singled out in drone attacks. The diverse nationalities of the militants show the extent to which Pakistan’s tribal regions straddling the border with Afghanistan have been infiltrated by foreign fighters, mostly affiliated with Al Qaeda.

Dawn quoted the commander as saying that between 2007 and 2011, about 164 drone strikes had been carried out, killing more than 964 militants. Of those killed, 793 were local residents and 171 were foreigners, including Arabs, Uzbeks, Tajiks, Chechens, Filipinos and Moroccans.

Last year was the deadliest for drone attacks in the region, with 103 strikes killing 423 militants, including 133 foreigners, the commander was quoted as saying. In 2008, 23 drone strikes killed 152 militants, 12 of them foreigners or affiliated with Al Qaeda. And in 2009, about 20 strikes killed 179 militants, including 20 foreigners.

Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, the spokesman for the Pakistani Army, played down the remarks of General Ghayur in an interview on Wednesday evening, calling them a “personal assessment” that was reported without proper context.

General Abbas emphasized that the army supported the public policy of the government that drone strikes inside Pakistani territory “do more harm than good.”

“The collateral damage by drone strikes creates a huge impact within the country,” he said.

But Cyril Almeida, a columnist at Dawn, saw the briefing as a “positive move.”

“Given the context, and recent history of the drone strikes, it is really unusual that they have gone public,” Mr. Almeida said. “Who knows what lies behind it, but it is definitely a good thing. A lot of the people have pointed that there have been lesser protests in the tribal areas over drones as compared to Pakistan proper. The issue has become a bit of a political football.

“Anything that brings more clarity on drone strikes in terms of a frank assessment, as opposed to spin, makes sense,” Mr. Almeida said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/wo.../10drones.html