CONFIRMATION AWAITS, but Obama administration officials see “strong indications” that the leading commander of the Haqqani network was killed in a drone strike that also claimed the lives of 18 others.
From the New York Times this morning:
Senior American officials said they had strong indications that Badruddin Haqqani, the operational commander of the Haqqani network, which is responsible for some of the most spectacular assaults on American bases and Afghan cities in recent years, was killed in a drone strike this week.
“There are indications that Haqqani has met his demise,” a senior United States official said in Washington on Friday. He said that officials were waiting to sift through evidence, including information on jihadist Web sites, before they could be certain that Mr. Haqqani had been killed.
[...] Early Friday, C.I.A. drones fired at least six missiles at three locations in the Shawal Valley, destroying mud-walled compounds and at least two vehicles, said two Pakistani security officials and a local Taliban commander. Among the 18 people reported to have been killed was Emeti Yakuf, a senior leader of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, a group from western China whose members are Chinese Uighur Muslim militants.
If Haqqani was assassinated in this drone strike, he would be the latest in a line of successful drones targets under the command of C.I.A. Director David Petraeus, the last being Al Qaeda deputy leader, Abu Yahya al-Libi.
In case you haven’t been paying attention, the C.I.A. isn’t just for spooks anymore.
What has this guy, not to mention the 18 bystanders, done to us? I see no mention of operations performed, just vague accusations of terrorism. Is this what we’ve come to?
The Obama administration’s drone program can be questioned in specific instances, that’s been proven.
However, the Haqqani network has been protected in Pakistan, while taking responsibility for attacks on the US Embassy, as well as NATO headquarters, going back as far as 2008. There is a lot more analysis pointing to specific terrorism inside Afghanistan.
That said, there are disagreements on targeting the Network versus trying to work with them. I’ve heard experts in DC think tanks make both cases over the last years.
Here’s a National Journal article that weighs both sides.
Secy Clinton & the Administration has reached out to the Haqqani network & the Taliban. Clinton’s now considering whether to designate Haqqani network a terrorist org.