Missile 'strikes Pakistan house'

[Flintlock]

Missile 'strikes Pakistan house'
Bajaur map

About 12 people have died in a suspected missile strike on a house in north-west Pakistan, residents and security sources say.

Local sources told the BBC two missiles were fired by a suspected US drone aircraft at Islamic militants inside the home near the village of Damadola.

The strike was in the Bajaur tribal area close to Afghanistan.

Unmanned American drones have targeted a number of suspected al-Qaeda and Taleban targets in the area this year.

A US Predator drone apparently targeted al-Qaeda deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Damadola in January 2006, but missed him.

The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad was told by local sources that about 30 people had gathered for a formal dinner near the same village, targeted on Wednesday.

The sources told our correspondent that unmanned US aircraft had been patrolling the skies since early morning.

Neither Pakistan nor the US confirm American air strikes, which are condemned in the country as a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.

Our correspondent says since the beginning of the year there has been an increase in US missile attacks in the tribal areas, apparently as part of a US agreement with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf.

But the country's newly elected government has asked the US to stop striking within its territory to aid its policy of negotiating with pro-Taleban militants, she says.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Missile 'strikes Pakistan house'

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

It is sensitive times in Paksitan and the govt is a sticky wicket with Nawaz Sharif having technically pulled the rug from underneath the feet.

Therefore, the US cannot take a chance to destabilise the govt, unless it wants another coup and bring Pakistan to square One, which the US lobbied so hard to remove.

Therefore, this must be a joint action which the Pak govt has given a nod to. I believe such a mechanism exists.

 

[batmannow]

SORY, SALIM sir, i would like to diffr with your... idea , USA is a alone superpower and its 100% their own style of messing things in pakistan........ how can pakistani govt keep negociating with (TALIBANS) & on other hand give permission... to so called- US STRIKES on these peoples, eventully its is crystal clear that US doent want to have dialoge with TALIBANS.

the, question is what pakistani govt can do to stop .. these US STRIKES ?

 

[maqsad]

Everything starts with diplomacy and negotiation. One thing I don't understand about this situation is what is really going on. Why do these militants have to have such an expensive missile fired at them when their houses can just be surrounded and they can be asked to surrender or die. Now how hard is that to do?

 

[Energon]

the, question is what pakistani govt can do to stop .. these US STRIKES ?

I don't know of anything that the GoP can really do to stop the NATO strikes. The USA has made up its mind that it will keep striking targets within Pakistan because the local military forces are either unable or incapable of doing the same. Like it or not the US government also sees Pakistan as a client state which can be manipulated in any which way. Hence there is nothing that will really stop the US from persisting with their strike missions in Pakistan. This is a reality everybody has to accept.

 

[Energon]

Everything starts with diplomacy and negotiation. One thing I don't understand about this situation is what is really going on. Why do these militants have to have such an expensive missile fired at them when their houses can just be surrounded and they can be asked to surrender or die. Now how hard is that to do?

Most of these places are extremely desolate and located in harsh terrains where it is dangerous and difficult to mobilize strike teams. Encirclement and siege operations usually result in more collateral damage which only further fuels the militant agenda. By and large most of the militants in these cases are not likely to surrender.

 

[maqsad]

Most of these places are extremely desolate and located in harsh terrains where it is dangerous and difficult to mobilize strike teams. Encirclement and siege operations usually result in more collateral damage which only further fuels the militant agenda. By and large most of the militants in these cases are not likely to surrender.

Well good, the pak army can then bill the US govt $5 million for each house they want blown up. That money can go towards the development of remote controlled UAVs and choppers as well as stun gas, immobilizing foam spray and anything else needed to subdue the militants. If the pak army can handle the most harsh terrain in the world(kargil) then it can cough up a crack team of a few hundreds special ops who specialize in rapid deployment. I'm sure more lives will be saved that way, more dignity retained(for pakistanis) and better training imparted to the Pak army. This is what an army should be doing anyway instead of sitting down on chairs and sipping tea with people who kidnap them 30 minutes later. It is an intolerable disgrace that someone sitting in Langley is allowed to press buttons to blow up random areas in Pakistan because the pak military and police force cannot or will not do the job entrusted to them.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

SORY, SALIM sir, i would like to diffr with your... idea , USA is a alone superpower and its 100% their own style of messing things in pakistan........ how can pakistani govt keep negociating with (TALIBANS) & on other hand give permission... to so called- US STRIKES on these peoples, eventully its is crystal clear that US doent want to have dialoge with TALIBANS.

the, question is what pakistani govt can do to stop .. these US STRIKES ?

There is no doubt that the US will not have a dialogue with Taliban.

Only yesterday at the Knesset, President Bush decried all terrorist organisations and indirectly chided Obama because it is alleged that his representative spoke to the Hamas!

Pakistan govt has indicated that they are to open dialogue with Mehsud and gang and has reined in the Army.

Paksitan govt has informed the US that it will not accept unilateral bombing of Pakistani areas.

And yet it goes on!

A huge charade!

I do agree Pakistan has no choice but to lump it.

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Everything starts with diplomacy and negotiation. One thing I don't understand about this situation is what is really going on. Why do these militants have to have such an expensive missile fired at them when their houses can just be surrounded and they can be asked to surrender or die. Now how hard is that to do?

What has expense got to do with fighting a war?

If expense was the criterion, then why have nukes or why even have an army or even a war?

A rather convoluted statement ''Why do these militants have to have such an expensive missile fired at them when their houses can just be surrounded and they can be asked to surrender or die. Now how hard is that to do?''

Actually the missile is for the very reason that one does not have to close in with the enemy and in the bargain buy some casualties.

Why have a missile anyway, is then the question, if one has to close in and buy casualties?

Or do you think that the US is being unfair that they are killing so many and not letting the fundamentalist the pleasure of killing at least one American?

If surrounding the fundamentalists and asking them to surrender was that easy as you are suggesting, then the Pakistani Army would have done it by themselves long ago. Or do you think that the Pakistani Army is incapable and a bunch of chumps?

 

[Tiki Tam Tam]

Well good, the pak army can then bill the US govt $5 million for each house they want blown up. That money can go towards the development of remote controlled UAVs and choppers as well as stun gas, immobilizing foam spray and anything else needed to subdue the militants. If the pak army can handle the most harsh terrain in the world(kargil) then it can cough up a crack team of a few hundreds special ops who specialize in rapid deployment. I'm sure more lives will be saved that way, more dignity retained(for pakistanis) and better training imparted to the Pak army. This is what an army should be doing anyway instead of sitting down on chairs and sipping tea with people who kidnap them 30 minutes later. It is an intolerable disgrace that someone sitting in Langley is allowed to press buttons to blow up random areas in Pakistan because the pak military and police force cannot or will not do the job entrusted to them.

Why should the US give Pak Army money if they can do it themselves?

It maybe disgraceful that Langley presses buttons and things explode, but then that is life.

 

[maqsad]

What has expense got to do with fighting a war?

If expense was the criterion, then why have nukes or why even have an army or even a war?

A rather convoluted statement ''Why do these militants have to have such an expensive missile fired at them when their houses can just be surrounded and they can be asked to surrender or die. Now how hard is that to do?''

Actually the missile is for the very reason that one does not have to close in with the enemy and in the bargain buy some casualties.

Why have a missile anyway, is then the question, if one has to close in and buy casualties?

Or do you think that the US is being unfair that they are killing so many and not letting the fundamentalist the pleasure of killing at least one American?

If surrounding the fundamentalists and asking them to surrender was that easy as you are suggesting, then the Pakistani Army would have done it by themselves long ago. Or do you think that the Pakistani Army is incapable and a bunch of chumps?

If the militants are surrounded and captured then they have a chance to go to trial. Also, any innocent women and children's lives are saved. The rest of the citizens in FATA do not feel terrorized or betrayed by the federal govt in Islamabad. As far as I know there are anti-terrorism laws in Pakistan which were created for the purpose of putting terrorism suspects on trial.

 

[maqsad]

Why should the US give Pak Army money if they can do it themselves?

It maybe disgraceful that Langley presses buttons and things explode, but then that is life.

Why should they do it themselves if they can give the Pak Army money to do it? If these people are supposedly terrorism suspects then they are more valuable captured alive than dead anyway. The reason they should give the Pak Army money is because it damages the integrity of Pakistan and creates instability and resentment in the people of FATA directed against Islamabad which does nobody in Pakistan any good. Therefore it is bad along with a host of other reasons. So if the Pak Army can reliably capture/kill these militants the US ceases to have any legitimate reason to act like wild reckless lunatics.

 

[Flintlock]

'High value target' killed in Pakistan

Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:57 PM PT
Filed Under: Terrorism

By Robert Windrem, Mushaq Yusufzai and Carol Grisanti

Senior U.S. and Pakistani officials tell NBC News that Wednesday’s Predator attack on a village in northwest Pakistan was not insignificant, that a “high-value target … an Arab” was among those killed. U.S. officials believe the unnamed target was planning attacks outside Pakistan, “so we nailed him,” in the words of one.

By all accounts, on Wednesday evening, two male guesthouses in the village of Damodola were struck by Hellfire missiles fired from Predator drones. The drones are normally operated by the CIA. Inside the guesthouses were local fighters along with several “foreigners,” including the Arab fighter, according to the U.S. officials and locals.

Although the number of missiles fired remains uncertain, recent attacks have involved multiple volleys from multiple Predators. Predators now carry up to six Hellfires.

The attack is the second on male guesthouses, known as hujras, in Damodola in the Bajaur Agency near the Afghanistan border. On Jan. 13, 2006, Predators fired multiple volleys of Hellfires at a guesthouse, killing 18 people. The target in that attack was al-Qaida’s No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he had already left and a week later ridiculed the attacks as just the latest U.S. failure in the war of terror.

'High value target' killed in Pakistan - Deep Background - msnbc.com

 

[fatman17]

'High value target' killed in Pakistan

Posted on Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:57 PM PT
Filed Under: Terrorism

By Robert Windrem, Mushaq Yusufzai and Carol Grisanti

Senior U.S. and Pakistani officials tell NBC News that Wednesday’s Predator attack on a village in northwest Pakistan was not insignificant, that a “high-value target … an Arab” was among those killed. U.S. officials believe the unnamed target was planning attacks outside Pakistan, “so we nailed him,” in the words of one.

By all accounts, on Wednesday evening, two male guesthouses in the village of Damodola were struck by Hellfire missiles fired from Predator drones. The drones are normally operated by the CIA. Inside the guesthouses were local fighters along with several “foreigners,” including the Arab fighter, according to the U.S. officials and locals.

Although the number of missiles fired remains uncertain, recent attacks have involved multiple volleys from multiple Predators. Predators now carry up to six Hellfires.

The attack is the second on male guesthouses, known as hujras, in Damodola in the Bajaur Agency near the Afghanistan border. On Jan. 13, 2006, Predators fired multiple volleys of Hellfires at a guesthouse, killing 18 people. The target in that attack was al-Qaida’s No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, but he had already left and a week later ridiculed the attacks as just the latest U.S. failure in the war of terror.

'High value target' killed in Pakistan - Deep Background - msnbc.com

a high value target may have been there but local reports indicate that 2 rooms were full of ammo as there were loud explosions after the strike.

 

[IceCold]

So the strike did not get waisted after all.