The overwhelming news coverage given to our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan makes us less aware of our involvement in Pakistan. In “America’s Secret War”, BBC News maps out strikes by US drones, Islamic militant attacks, and the impact of such attacks in Pakistan.
Missile attacks by US drones in Pakistan’s tribal areas have more than trebled under the Obama administration, research by the BBC Urdu service shows. Since January 2009, 2,500 people have been killed as a result of US drones and Islamic militant attacks. Although US drones have caused the highest profile casualties, such as one leader of the Pakistani Taliban, it has also caused many deaths in different regions in Pakistan, and helped to fuel anti-American sentiment in the region.
A senior US official called drones “the most precise weapons system in the history of warfare”, and Pakistan is accused of publicly criticizing but secretly supporting US strikes.
