Interestingly, "vehemently secular" Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Deputy Parliamentary Leader Haider Rizvi claimed he would not be able to handle the growing popular and political pressure from these attacks and declared the Pakistan people "had not made their peace with drone attacks in the tribal areas and a shift into mainland Pakistan was even more inflammatory."
"Friendly countries are being asked to help Pakistan in convincing the US to respect Pakistan's sovereignty," said Chairman of the Joint Committee Raza Rabbani. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon was "concerned" about the US attacks but didn't intervene because he found it to be a "bilateral issue."
Pakistani Prime Minister: "We Will Hit Targets Ourselves"
Gilani denies there is a secret government agreement between the US and Pakistan, which may be mostly true. Right after the election of Obama, one of the released cables (08ISLAMABAD3586) shows Gilani pressed the US government to "share all credible, actionable threat information." He declared, "We will hit the targets ourselves,"
...Gilani added that drone strikes not only violated Pakistani sovereignty, but also fed anti-U.S. sentiment, making harder his own public case that the struggle against extremists was "Pakistan's war." Instead, there was popular pressure on elected officials like himself to forcefully respond to alleged U.S. border incursions, which were "an embarrassment" for the GOP. The "trust gap" should be filled with joint actions, he argued, and, while he might be criticized for such bilateral cooperation, he believed he could effectively convince the public that those targeted were responsible for Benazir Bhutto's assassination and the killing of innocents at schools.
Months later, in June 2009 cable 09ISLAMABAD1438, Gilani again expressed his frustration while meeting with National Security Advisor James Jones:
[Gilani] thanked the U.S. for its assistance while stating he needed "a battalion of helicopters" to fight the extremists now, and in the future. He also made repeated pleas for drones to be "put in Pakistan's hands" so that Pakistan would own the issue and drone attacks (including collateral damage) would not provoke anti-americanism. Zardari said the technology behind them was not cutting-edge and said he has raised the issue with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Inter Services Public Relations spokesman in Pakistan said right in the immediate aftermath of the cable release, "There has only been sharing of technical intelligence in some areas" and "no armed drone attack support has ever been asked for operations which have been conducted using own resources."
"American Image" Reaching a New Low
Consistent with current US operations in Pakistan, a US drone strike destroyed a vehicle in Pakistan in the North Waziristan district on the Afghan border, an area believed to be occupied by Taliban. Local officials said "six suspected militants" were killed.
A Washington Pew Research Center survey conducted recently shows that 11 percent of Pakistanis view the US and President Obama favorably. The survey, taken a week prior to the killing of Osama bin Laden, is likely a bit higher than the country's current approval rating especially since that and multiple drone strikes have taken place in Pakistan since the assassination.
Dawn Media Group concludes the "American image" is reaching new lows but that has never bothered Washington. The media organization notes US congressman would like a review of the US commitment to providing aid in the "war on terror" before more aid is given to the country, which has received at least $20 billion so far.
Shyema Sajjad for Dawn writes, "What's the most stirring thing about the revelations WikiLeaks has brought to us today? Nothing? Or everything? For starters, quite a few people reading the cables right now must be gloating and inwardly thinking or outwardly bragging. 'Hah! I knew it all along!' Of course you did. Didn't we all?"
Sajjad finds the key travesty revealed in the cables to be the fact that Pakistani leaders and the military have "more faith in the American government than they do in themselves." He adds, "Talk of sovereignty today is a farce. Sovereignty is not sacred and whether it's Kayani who pretends to uphold it or whether it is Gilani, fact remains that we are secretly (well, not so much anymore) selling it every single day."
A United Nations report in June 2010 on "Extrajudicial Executions" suggested the drones targeting militants "violate straightforward legal rules."
The refusal by States who conduct targeted killings to provide transparency about their policy violates the international framework that limits the unlawful use of legal force against individuals. A lack of disclosure gives States a virtual and impermissible licence to kill.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
