Noah Shachtman
Security

Pakistan's Army Practices Drone Shoot-Downs

The U.S. and Pakistan supposedly have a "don’t ask, don’t tell" agreement when it comes to killer drone strikes on militant camps inside the country: American officials stay mum about the attacks, and their counterparts in Islamabad only complain a little — while sneaking peeks at the drone surveillance feeds. The problem is, someone apparently […]

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The U.S. and Pakistan supposedly have a "don't ask, don't tell" agreement when it comes to killer drone strikes on militant camps inside the country: American officials stay mum about the attacks, and their counterparts in Islamabad only complain a little -- while sneaking peeks at the drone surveillance feeds. The problem is, someone apparently forgot to tell the Pakistani army about the deal. "Pakistani soldiers practiced shooting at pilotless 'drone' aircraft Friday," Reuters reports.

"The elements of Army Air Defense demonstrated their shooting skills by targeting the drones flying at different altitudes," the military said in a statement.

The Pakistani "anti-aircraft guns and short-range surface-to-air missiles" were used in an exercise conducted "near the city of
Muzaffargarh in the central Pubjab province." As the resurgent Weekly Standard blog points out, that's "far from the border areas where the U.S. Predator [drone]s are ranging."

So maybe the shoot-downs are just for show -- to deflect domestic criticism of the U.S. robotic aircraft attacks. Yesterday, Pakistani
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani called the strikes "intolerable, and we protest against it," according to Pakistan's* Dawn *newspaper. And denied any under-the-table deal with the Americans.

Still, an American robotic aircraft did just strike deep into Pakistan for the first time since the current wave of drone assaults began. Six were killed in the raid. The attack was at least the 21st since the beginning of August.

[Photo: USAF]

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