Oct 21, 2009 9:14 AM

Pak Taliban Spooked by Drones, Insider Account Shows

For months, administration and intelligence officials have assured us that the drone war in Pakistan has the jihadists on the run — decimating their leadership, and keeping the rest looking over their shoulders. But there’s been little independent verification of what effect the remotely-piloted planes are really having; journalists and aid workers are kept far […]

For months, administration and intelligence officials have assured us that the drone war in Pakistan has the jihadists on the run -- decimating their leadership, and keeping the rest looking over their shoulders. But there's been little independent verification of what effect the remotely-piloted planes are really having; journalists and aid workers are kept far from the Predator and Reaper fire zone. The* New York Times' *David Rohde offers what I believe is the first inside look at the drone campaign, from the militants' point of view. It's part of his sensational series, documenting his kidnapping by the Taliban. And yes, he says, the robotic aircraft have the guerrillas spooked.

Two deafening explosions shook the walls of the compound where the Taliban held us hostage. My guards and I dived to the floor as chunks of dirt hurtled through the window.... Somewhere outside, a woman wailed... Powerful missiles fired by an American drone had obliterated their target a few hundred yards from our house in a remote village in Pakistan’s tribal areas....
It was March 25, and for months the drones had been a terrifying presence. Remotely piloted, propeller-driven airplanes, they could easily be heard as they circled overhead for hours. To the naked eye, they were small dots in the sky. But their missiles had a range of several miles. We knew we could be immolated without warning.
Our guards believed the drones were targeting me... Whenever a drone appeared, I was ordered to stay inside. The guards believed that its surveillance cameras could recognize my face from thousands of feet above.
*In the courtyard after the missile strike, the guards clutched their weapons and anxiously watched the sky. *

But, in the next breath, Rohde also validates some of the criticisms of the robotic assaults -- that the drones are handing the Taliban a propaganda win, and driving fresh jihadists to their ranks.

"The drones killed many senior commanders and hindered their operations. Yet the Taliban were able to garner recruits in their aftermath by exaggerating the number of civilian casualties," he writes. "The strikes also created a paranoia among the Taliban. They believed that a network of local informants guided the missiles. Innocent civilians were rounded up, accused of working as American spies and then executed."

[Photo: Noah Shachtman]

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