First month without a US drone strike in Pakistan for over two years

February 3, 2014 by Jack Serle

There were no reported drone strikes in Pakistan in January. This is the first calendar month without a drone strike in more than two years.

The last drone attack was reported in the country on December 25 2013 – 40 days ago. At least three people were killed in this strike, the only Christmas Day strike reported in Pakistan in 10 years of drone attacks.

It is not clear why there has been such a pause. Last year, although the number of strikes dropped considerably, Bureau data shows that there was on average a strike every two weeks.

The longest gap between strikes in 2013 lasted for 42 days between April 17 and May 29 2013. This pause ended with the death of Wali Ur Rehman, the deputy leader of the TTP. The gap in strikes coincided with Pakistan’s general election, in which drones were a major campaigning point, and also with the run-up to President Obama’s speech at the National Defense University, in which he announced new policy guidelines around covert lethal actions.

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http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/2014/02/03/first-month-without-a-us-drone-strike-in-pakistan-for-over-two-years/

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However, it’s not obvious what would be causing a similar problem today. There hasn’t been an incident between the United States and Pakistan on that level of late, and, by one metric (high-level official meetings), there’s been something of an uptick in recent relations.

Another possible explanation is that the Administration is, for whatever reason, winding down aggressive use of drones in Pakistan. Last year, President Obama committed to scaling down the targeted killing program, arguing that “we cannot use force everywhere that a radical ideology takes root,” remarks he echoed in this year’s State of the Union. Secretary of State John Kerry has been even more conclusive, saying during a 2013 visit to Pakistanthat “the program will end,” purportedly “soon,” because “we have eliminated most of the threat.” It is possible, then, that the break in strikes is simply a reflection of the broader decline in targeted killings. The less U.S. policymakers rely on the strategy, the less frequent strikes are likely to be.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/world/2014/02/03/3239111/drones-month-january-2014/