Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ISLAMABAD3654
2008-11-20 12:12:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
MFA AGAIN CONVOKES AMBASSADOR RE DRONE STRIKES
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 003654
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK
SUBJECT: MFA AGAIN CONVOKES AMBASSADOR RE DRONE STRIKES
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b)(d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 003654
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK
SUBJECT: MFA AGAIN CONVOKES AMBASSADOR RE DRONE STRIKES
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b)(d)
1. (C) Following press reports of an alleged U.S. drone
strike November 19 against a target in Bannu, Northwest
Frontier Province, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir convoked
Ambassador to issue a formal GOP protest. A clearly
uncomfortable Bashir said that the strike "undermined our
efforts against terrorism" and was conducted "with no prior
intimation." This had created public anger and was difficult
to explain to the Pakistani parliament. What was needed was
a holistic strategy in addressing the militancy issue.
2. (C) Ambassador replied that she would convey the GOP's
concern to Washington. She noted U.S. satisfaction at the
increased level of U.S.-Pakistani military cooperation on the
Afghan border, and Bashir agreed that recent reports were
heartening in this regard. Bashir said the MFA would issue a
formal press statement; upon exiting the MFA, TV camera crews
called by the MFA documented the GOP taking us to task.
However, Bashir, who has been in recent briefings by
Ambassador and RAO regarding our strike policy, quickly moved
on to more positive topics such as the November 17 Friends of
Pakistan meeting and the proposed December 5 trilateral among
PM Gilani, President Karzai and Turkish PM Erdogan in Ankara.
3. (SBU) With headlines like "Give U.S. an Inch and It'll
Take a Mile," today's press highlighted what it believed was
the first ever U.S. drone strike "70 kilometers deep" inside
the "settled" areas of Pakistan. Almost without exception
the media also noted that the strike killed Abdullah Azam
al-Saudi, identified as a senior member of Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaida network. Also reported killed were one Arab, two
Turkmen and a local militant in the area of Janikhel, close
to North Waziristan.
PATTERSON
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2018
TAGS: PREL PTER PGOV PK
SUBJECT: MFA AGAIN CONVOKES AMBASSADOR RE DRONE STRIKES
Classified By: Anne W. Patterson, for reasons 1.4 (b)(d)
1. (C) Following press reports of an alleged U.S. drone
strike November 19 against a target in Bannu, Northwest
Frontier Province, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir convoked
Ambassador to issue a formal GOP protest. A clearly
uncomfortable Bashir said that the strike "undermined our
efforts against terrorism" and was conducted "with no prior
intimation." This had created public anger and was difficult
to explain to the Pakistani parliament. What was needed was
a holistic strategy in addressing the militancy issue.
2. (C) Ambassador replied that she would convey the GOP's
concern to Washington. She noted U.S. satisfaction at the
increased level of U.S.-Pakistani military cooperation on the
Afghan border, and Bashir agreed that recent reports were
heartening in this regard. Bashir said the MFA would issue a
formal press statement; upon exiting the MFA, TV camera crews
called by the MFA documented the GOP taking us to task.
However, Bashir, who has been in recent briefings by
Ambassador and RAO regarding our strike policy, quickly moved
on to more positive topics such as the November 17 Friends of
Pakistan meeting and the proposed December 5 trilateral among
PM Gilani, President Karzai and Turkish PM Erdogan in Ankara.
3. (SBU) With headlines like "Give U.S. an Inch and It'll
Take a Mile," today's press highlighted what it believed was
the first ever U.S. drone strike "70 kilometers deep" inside
the "settled" areas of Pakistan. Almost without exception
the media also noted that the strike killed Abdullah Azam
al-Saudi, identified as a senior member of Osama bin Laden's
al-Qaida network. Also reported killed were one Arab, two
Turkmen and a local militant in the area of Janikhel, close
to North Waziristan.
PATTERSON