NEW YORK: US and Pakistani intelligence officials are drawing up a fresh list of terrorist targets for Predator drone strikes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, part of a US review of the drone program, the Wall Street Journal said Thursday.
Citing official sources the newspaper said Pakistani officials are seeking to broaden the scope of the program to target extremists who have carried out attacks against Pakistanis, a move they say could win domestic support.
The Obama administration is weighing the effectiveness of the program against the risk that its unpopularity weakens an important ally.
Underlining the fragility of the situation, the US believes Pakistan’s top intelligence agency is directly supporting the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan, even as the US targets those groups, says a person close to the deliberations.
In a separate but similar report the New York Times quoting US government officials said ‘the Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan’.
The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements.
The Times said ‘support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan’s spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence the officials said. There is even evidence that ISI operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections.’
The Wall Street Journal in its report pointed out the Central Intelligence Agency’s drone program is important to Washington because areas of Pakistan remain a haven for Taliban and al Qaeda militants operating in Afghanistan.
The WSJ said ‘the Obama administration is reviewing how it uses missile strikes to target militants on the border, according to national-security officials, as part of a broad review of its strategy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan.’
The administration considers the program a success, and the program isn’t expected to be significantly curtailed. But officials familiar with the review say it could change the pace and size of the program, and make some technical refinements in an effort to hit targets faster. The review seeks to determine under what circumstances drones should be used, the officials told WSJ.
The WSJ said that the broader reassessment could be announced as soon as Friday, according to people familiar with the matter. The review is believed to address plans for increasing troops and combating drug trafficking in Afghanistan, as well as strategies for strengthening institutions of civil government and building the economies in both countries.
Stability in Zardari’s government is seen in Washington as important to maintain support for US efforts to strike at terrorist targets. Washington also wants to get Islamabad to take stronger steps against militants on the border.
If the Zardari government were to fall, US officials say they would be unsure of the next government’s support. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif have been publicly critical of the strikes, though what support they might offer the US behind the scenes if they gain more power is uncertain, US officials say.
The WSJ claimed US officials saying they are continuing to find evidence Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency continues to support militant groups in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, and groups run by Jalaluddin Haqqani and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.
‘There is definite unhappiness that the US is still finding direct links between the ISI and those three organizations, which are operating in Afghanistan,’ said a person working on the issue. Haqqani’s network has been targeted in drone attacks, as has Taliban leader Mullah Omar, the person said.
Pakistani officials say they only maintain contacts with some elements of the Taliban and no longer directly support the militants. There remains a fear among US allies that the strikes could fuel a political backlash in Pakistan that in the long run aids extremists.
‘At some point, a line needs to be drawn’ on the scope of the program, said a European official briefed on the review.
The review is examining ways to reduce the time it takes between identifying a target and when the Predators fire, now less than 45 minutes said a former CIA official.
President Barack Obama concluded that the drones have been an effective weapon against al Qaeda since President George W. Bush accelerated the missile strikes last year.