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Gold9472
01-23-2009, 06:11 PM
President Obama 'orders Pakistan drone attacks'

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5575883.ece

1/23/2009

Missiles fired from suspected US drones killed at least 15 people inside Pakistan today, the first such strikes since Barack Obama became president and a clear sign that the controversial military policy begun by George W Bush has not changed.

Security officials said the strikes, which saw up to five missiles slam into houses in separate villages, killed seven "foreigners" - a term that usually means al-Qaeda - but locals also said that three children lost their lives.

Dozens of similar strikes since August on northwest Pakistan, a hotbed of Taleban and al-Qaeda militancy, have sparked angry government criticism of the US, which is targeting the area with missiles launched from unmanned CIA aircraft controlled from operation rooms inside the US.

The operations were stepped up last year after frustration inside the Bush administration over a perceived failure by Islamabad to stem the flow of Taleban and al-Qaeda fighters from the tribal regions into Afghanistan. Mr Obama has made Afghanistan his top foreign policy priority and said during his presidential campaign that he would consider military action inside Pakistan if the government there was unable or unwilling to take on the militants.

The strikes come just a day after Mr Obama appointed Richard Holbrooke, a former UN ambassador, as a special envoy for the region.

Eight people died when missiles hit a compound near Mir Ali, an al-Qaeda hub in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. Seven more died when hours later two missiles hit a house in Wana, in South Waziristan. Local officials said the target in Wana was a guest house owned by a pro-Taleban tribesman. One said that as well as three children, the tribesman's relatives were killed in the blast.

Pakistan has objected to such attacks, saying they are a violation of its territory that undermines its efforts to tackle militants. Since September, the US is estimated to have carried out about 30 such attacks, killing more than 220 people.

Gold9472
01-23-2009, 06:21 PM
White House Press Secretary won't discuss alleged US strikes in Pakistan

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/White_House_press_briefing_0123.html

David Edwards and Ron Brynaert
Published: Friday January 23, 2009

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs' second White House press briefing started with a series of questions on economics and the stimulus package, but it wasn't long before a reporter asked about alleged US missile strikes in Pakistan which reportedly killed 15 early Friday morning.

But Gibbs refused to answer the question by NBC News' Chuck Todd, saying, "I'm not going to get into this matter."

After Fox News' Major Garrett joined the slight fray that erupted over the non-answer, asking if he considered whether there was "justifiable curiosity about the president's first military actions."

"There are many things that you should be justifiably curious about," Gibbs responded, perhaps taking a knock at Fox News in general, "but I'm not gonna get into talking about this."

"If other members of the US government are confirming this, why is it that you can't?" Todd wanted to know.

"I'm not going to get into these matters," Gibbs said with a smile.

Afterward, other reporters went back to the economy and didn't press Gibbs for more details about what could be the first military operation conducted during the Obama Administration.

At least seven people were killed, most of them foreigners, in a suspected US missile strike in northwest Pakistan, bringing to 15 the number killed in such attacks on Friday, officials said.

"Two missiles fired by a suspected US drone hit a house in Wana," a senior security official told AFP, referring to the main town in South Waziristan district and a known hub of Taliban and Al-Qaeda extremists.

It was the second suspected US missile attack in northwest Pakistan on Friday, just hours after eight people were killed in North Waziristan.

Friday's suspected US missile strikes were the first since US President Barack Obama took office in Washington and came one day after he appointed veteran diplomat Richard Holbrooke special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

This video is from CNN's Newsroom, broadcast Jan. 23, 2009.

Video At Source

Gold9472
01-23-2009, 06:21 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gibbs