Al-Qaida Leader Admits Facing Pressure From Drones -- NPR/APA purported al-Qaida leader in Pakistan says the terror network is losing territory and fighters amid a U.S. drone strike campaign, according to an audio message monitored by a U.S. organization that tracks militant propaganda.
The rare admission by Ustadh Ahmad Farooq follows an escalation in U.S. missile hits against al-Qaida and Taliban targets in the tribal belt along the border with Afghanistan, as well as increased Pakistani army operations over the last three years.
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Update: Stats Back Qaeda Claim of Drone Pain -- The Danger Room
My Comment: I am sure that the biggest worry among Al Qaeda leaders and commanders (today) revolves around who can you trust. For the drones to be effective, the CIA would need spies and collaborators on the ground to identify targets. Al Qaeda and the Taliban know this .... and with cash rewards being large enough to entice most poor tribesman, if you were an Al Qaeda or Taliban commander you could then not help yourself to wonder if you are the CIA's next target on some bulletin board.
1 comment:
Could not agree more with your comment on this. Using drones is all well and good, but they have to be used effectively and you hit the nail on the head; that will involve spies and collaborators on the ground to identify targets. I think this tactic is working well in Pakistan where coalition forces are conducting counterterrorism, but I have my worries about applying the same tactic in Afghanistan where drones can't create the conditions needed on the ground to do COIN effectively.
I wrote a blog on this subject a while back for anyone who's interested...'Replacing Boots with 'Bots; Let's Not Lose Sight of Strategy' http://military-matters.blogspot.com/2011/01/replacing-boots-with-bots-lets-not-lose.html
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