tagged w/ drones in pakistan
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WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon and CIA are still baffled tonight over how a Predator B drone was accidentally loaded with freeze dried military food (Meal, Ready-To-Eat, MREs) instead of Hellfire missiles. The drone had been on a bombing mission over Pakistan when the mistake was noticed.
"We flew the drone out on a bomb run to take out an apartment complex housing two suspected terrorists," an anonymous military official said, "but when she dropped her explosives we noticed MREs falling instead."
The official would not reveal his name because he said the Pentagon did not want news of this incident getting out to the public. "This is serious," he said, "because if Americans realized our military could be using predator drones to drop food packets instead of bombs and missiles on impoverished people, they might begin to prefer that sometime down the road."
The suspected insurgents were not injured, but one civilian standing outside the apartment building sustained serious head injuries.
The official was confident the mistake would not happen again. "We've got our best people looking into how this could have happened."
http://deardirtyamerica.blogspot.com/2012/01/drone-loaded-with-food-instead-of-bombs.html
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A new report from a team of British and Pakistani journalists finds one U.S. drone strike occurs every four days in Pakistan. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism estimates U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan have killed as many as 775 civilians, including 168 children, since 2004. The report also challenges a recent claim by President Obama’s top counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, that no civilians have been killed in the drone attacks for nearly a year. According to the Bureau’s researchers, at least 45 civilians were killed in 10 U.S. attacks during the last year. We speak with Chris Woods, an award-winning reporter who leads the drones investigation team for The Bureau of Investigative Journalism in London.A new report from a team of British and Pakistani journalists finds one U.S. drone... more
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A U.S. offer to supply Pakistan with its own fleet of surveillance drone aircraft delighted Islamabad a year ago but now threatens to turn into another source of friction between the two nations.
The offer was made by U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates during a trip to Islamabad in January 2010 but talks have failed to gain traction, with Pakistan privately voicing concern about what it says are exorbitant prices and a snail-pace delivery timeline.
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/reuters/National/76576A U.S. offer to supply Pakistan with its own fleet of surveillance drone aircraft... more
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The CIA has declined comment on allegations that its drones have a targeting margin of error of up to 40 feet, a malfunction that could be contributing to civilian deaths in Afghanistan and Pakistan.The CIA has declined comment on allegations that its drones have a targeting margin of... more
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Pakistanis are outraged by NATO strikes on their side of the border. The fourth strike in a week by coalition helicopters killed three members of Pakistan’s border force. In response, Pakistan closed the crossing to protest the strike.Pakistanis are outraged by NATO strikes on their side of the border. The fourth strike... more
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The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan battlefront to significantly expand the CIA's campaign against militants in their Pakistani havens.The U.S. military is secretly diverting aerial drones and weaponry from the Afghan... more
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