# Pakistan Taliban leader's wife dies in suspected drone attack - CNN



## Yrys (5 Aug 2009)

(I'm not sure if it's the right board...)

Pakistan Taliban leader's wife dies in suspected drone attack

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- A suspected U.S. drone attack killed the wife 
of the leader of the Pakistan Taliban Wednesday, according to intelligence 
sources and relatives.

The unmanned aerial vehicle targeted the home of Baitullah Mehsud's father-
in-law in northwestern Pakistan, dropping two missiles, an intelligence official 
said. Mehsud's second wife was one of two people killed in the strike, according 
to the sources. Four others were wounded, they said. Muhammad Jamal, a 
Taliban member in the area, told CNN that the attack caused injuries to children
and women.

The U.S. military routinely offers no comment on reported drone attacks. However, 
the United States is the only country operating in the region known to have the ability 
to launch missiles from drones, which are controlled remotely

Mehsud and other key Taliban leaders have been targeted by the ongoing Pakistani 
military operation in northwest Pakistan. Hideouts linked to Mehsud are regularly 
shelled by both Pakistani aircraft and suspected U.S. drones. 

Mehsud's close aide recently confirmed that the Pakistani Taliban chief was behind 
the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was gunned 
down at a political rally in December 2007. Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, is the 
current president of Pakistan.

The Pakistani government and CIA officials have said in the past that Mehsud was 
responsible for Bhutto's death.


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## dustinm (5 Aug 2009)

I wonder what Pakistan thinks about Americans dropping missiles on their citizens? What if they got it wrong and bombed an unrelated civilian?


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## aesop081 (5 Aug 2009)

Whats a "drone" ?

:


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## Jarnhamar (5 Aug 2009)

RIP


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## VIChris (5 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> I wonder what Pakistan thinks about Americans dropping missiles on their citizens? What if they got it wrong and bombed an unrelated civilian?



I'm sure they'll love the idea until the moment it can be proven innocents have been killed. Until then, I don't think you'll hear much official opposition. Hell, I'd be a little surprised if Pakistani Government agencies weren't in some way aiding the Americans in targeting certain locations, at least through back channels.


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## gaspasser (5 Aug 2009)

CDN Aviator said:
			
		

> Whats a "drone" ?
> 
> :


Hope this helps CDNA...LOL





Oh, should I shed tears now or later???  Did any of them shed tears when over 6000 innocents were murdered on 9/11 ???  Sorry, I don't mean to be so grumpy or upset.


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## George Wallace (5 Aug 2009)

Well.  That is a good point.  Drones are a category of UAVs.  Unlike Predator and all the other UAVs that everyone sees in the news, Drones are not piloted remotely.  They are not susceptible to Jamming.  They are programmed prior to flight to fly along a programmed flight path and land in a designated location.  Once they are taxiing and in the air, they follow their programming, and are not controlled by anyone on the ground or in the air.

For a Drone to fire missiles in this instance, would involve quite a complicated computer program, and involve quite sophisticated sensor packages, all linked to a AI of which we have only seen in the movies.

Conclusion:  It wasn't a Drone.     ;D


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## dustinm (6 Aug 2009)

BYT Driver said:
			
		

> Oh, should I shed tears now or later???  Did any of them shed tears when over 6000 innocents were murdered on 9/11 ???  Sorry, I don't mean to be so grumpy or upset.



How would you feel if America dropped missiles on "known" terrorists houses here in Canada, with the government's approval? You might like the fact that America is eliminating terrorism in Canada, until they miss and take out some civilians who were minding their own business.


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## Jarnhamar (6 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> How would you feel if America dropped missiles on "known" terrorists houses here in Canada, with the government's approval? You might like the fact that America is eliminating terrorism in Canada, until they miss and take out some civilians who were minding their own business.



That would never happen because we don't have terrorists in Canada


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## aesop081 (6 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> How would you feel if America dropped missiles on "known" terrorists houses here in Canada, with the government's approval? You might like the fact that America is eliminating terrorism in Canada, until they miss and take out some civilians who were minding their own business.



Oh now you have me feeling bad about that thing in Pakistan.......





Nevermind, it was just heartburn.


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## Fusaki (6 Aug 2009)

> How would you feel if America dropped missiles on "known" terrorists houses here in Canada, with the government's approval? You might like the fact that America is eliminating terrorism in Canada, until they miss and take out some civilians who were minding their own business.



Totally different.

Canadian police and intelligence agencies have demonstrated that they're capable of fighting this war without military assistance from outside our borders.  Pakistan has not.

I believe that the Pakistani government only opposes these UAV strikes for propaganda purposes.  They do not want to be seen by the Pakistani people as a nation that allows the US to violate it's sovereignty by conducting violent action within it's borders.  

Behind closed doors though,  I'll bet the the Pakistani government is supporting these UAV strikes, or is at least complacent in them.  The Pakistani military is at war with the Taliban.  I can't see them genuinely angry about the US striking targets that they don't have the technology to hit themselves.


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## X-mo-1979 (6 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> How would you feel if America dropped missiles on "known" terrorists houses here in Canada, with the government's approval? You might like the fact that America is eliminating terrorism in Canada, until they miss and take out some civilians who were minding their own business.



Minding their own business in a compound with terrorist...what planet are you from?Did the media populate one recently?


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## dustinm (6 Aug 2009)

X-mo-1979 said:
			
		

> Minding their own business in a compound with terrorist...what planet are you from?Did the media populate on recently?



Just to clarify, I wasn't saying these _particular_ civilians were minding their own business, but that it's entirely possible that another target might be.


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## Bruce Monkhouse (6 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> Just to clarify, I wasn't saying these _particular_ civilians were minding their own business, but that it's entirely possible that another target might be.



Yup, and if we [Canada] were under siege from a group who's goal was to take over our Government by force and had already assassinated our Prime Minister then I guess I would be calling and, well sometimes things don't go 100% perfect......


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## X-mo-1979 (6 Aug 2009)

Bruce Monkhouse said:
			
		

> Yup, and if we [Canada] were under siege from a group who's goal was to take over our Government by force and had already assassinated our Prime Minister then I guess I would be calling and, well sometimes things don't go 100% perfect......



Not to mention these are not the same bombs we dropped on Bremen during WW2.These are precision munitions!I've seen Pred's kill people during one OP I was on NEXT TO a building with nothing more than the mud hut being covered in rags and blood.It's not like they just flew in quick and nailed the thing without looking.I'm willing to bet the area was under surveillance prior.Honestly when I hear of civilian deaths I tend to not even believe it anyway.Ever hear of propaganda?

If the Americans had to fly into our airspace it would mean our law enforcement and military could not handle the situation.Saying "what if's.."on a situation in the middle east is not comparable.


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## George Wallace (6 Aug 2009)

Neo Cortex said:
			
		

> Just to clarify, I wasn't saying these _particular_ civilians were minding their own business, but that it's entirely possible that another target might be.



 ???

It doesn't matter whether another target is minding their own business or not.  They are a TARGET.


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## helpup (7 Aug 2009)

Mistakes have happened with the UAV attacks, these have been reported and exploited by various parties as examples of "America's" cruelity.

Exploitation of the media has been reported but seldom exlpoited of insurgents using these bombings to plant "civilian casualties" in a righteous hit.

Mostly though any Attack by AC or UAV is vetted multiple times and cross checked before a button is pushed.  The Tgt is more often then not someone who had it comming. No regrets here.  We have come a long way from carpet bombing and War will never be a no innocents die process.

Bringing up and wondering about how the Govt of Pakistan feels about it when it has been more then noted on the MSM.  Is ODD, expected, mind you by the poster but ODD non the less

My own two cents on this being Pakistan has had an active role in most of the destabilizing forces in the region for over a decade(s). They activley persued that policy for thier own national interest and only started to see a problem when the monster they created started to get too close to thier powerbase.  That to me smacks of the thief complaining when the guard dog bits him in the A$$


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## CougarKing (7 Aug 2009)

Perhaps something like this belongs in the Pakistan instability superthread?  ???


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## helpup (7 Aug 2009)

I think there is enough range and scope to keep this under it's own topic for now.  But a " usual suspect" threw in a valid but questionable comment.  Hence the tangent it went on


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## time expired (7 Aug 2009)

ALLAH AKBAR (spelling?) occur ed to me.
                         Regards


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## Shec (7 Aug 2009)

Looks like the lovely couple are journeying to Paradise together:

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2009/08/07/mehsud-taliban-dead523.html


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## BernDawg (7 Aug 2009)

"Looks like the lovely couple are journeying to Paradise together:"

Won't she be pissed when he gets his 1000 virgins and she still has to do his laundry!!


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