THE POLITICAL SCENE about the C.I.A.’s covert drone program. On August 5th, officials at the C.I.A., in Langley, VA, watched a live video feed relaying closeup footage of one of the most wanted terrorists in Pakistan, Baitullah Mehsud, on the rooftop of his father-in-law’s house.

The video was captured by the infrared camera of a Predator drone—a remotely controlled, unmanned plane that had been hovering, undetected, two miles or so above the house. The C.I.A. remotely launched two Hellfire missiles from the Predator, and Mehsud and eleven others died.*)

There was no controversy when, a few days after the missile strike, CNN reported that President Barack Obama had authorized it. However, there was widespread anger after the Wall Street Journal revealed, at about the same time, that during the Bush Administration the C.I.A. had considered setting up hit squads to capture or kill Al Qaeda operatives around the world.

Hina Shamsi, a human-rights lawyer at the New York University School of Law, was struck by the inconsistency of the public’s responses. She said of the Predator program, “These are targeted international killings by the state.”

http://www.the-peoples-forum.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=15053

*) This was actually attempt #16 – the first 15 drone attacks on him, missed their target.

The Pakistani government has vowed to block any attack on the major city of Quetta by the United States, following persistent reports that the Obama Administration last week threatened to move against the city if Pakistan did not tackle the so-called “Quetta Shura,” a group of leaders of the ousted Afghan government which have allegedly taken up residence in the city.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik challenged the Obama Administration to provide some evidence for their charges, and said the Pakistani government would be happy to move against the group if the US did so. At the same time, he insisted their own intelligence suggests that the Quetta Shura does not exist.

http://news.antiwar.com/2009/09/28/pakistan-vows-to-block-us-attack-on-quetta/

The US has told Pakistan that it may start launching drone attacks against the Taliban leadership in the city of Quetta in a major escalation of its operations in the country.

Washington has long been frustrated at Islamabad's reluctance to target the Afghan Taliban's ruling council, the Quetta Shura, which is accused of directing large parts of the insurgency across the border in Afghanistan.

State department and intelligence officials delivered the ultimatum to Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, last week as he visited the US for the United Nations' security council sessions and the G20 economic summit.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/6237185/US-threatens-to-escalate-operations-inside-Pakistan.html

President Obama is exploring alternatives to a major troop increase in Afghanistan, including a plan advocated by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. to scale back American forces and focus more on rooting out Al Qaeda there and in Pakistan, officials said Tuesday.

Among the alternatives being presented to Mr. Obama is Mr. Biden’s suggestion to revamp the strategy altogether. Instead of increasing troops, officials said, Mr. Biden proposed scaling back the overall American military presence. Rather than trying to protect the Afghan population from the Taliban, American forces would concentrate on strikes against Qaeda cells, primarily in Pakistan, using special forces, Predator missile attacks and other surgical tactics.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/23/world/asia/23policy.html?_r=1

*)http://www.eagleeyemovie.com/