Obama confirms US drone strikes in Pakistan

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Obama confirms US drone strikes in Pakistan

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President Barack Obama confirmed that US drone aircraft have struck targets within Pakistan.

31 January,2012 07:03 am

President Barack Obama on Monday confirmed that US drone aircraft have struck Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets within Pakistan -- operations that until now had not been officially acknowledged.When asked about the use of drones by his administration in a chat with web users on Google and YouTube, Obama said a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA -- Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas.For the most part, theyve been very precise precision strikes against Al-Qaeda and their affiliates, and were very careful in terms of how its been applied, Obama said.This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases, and so on.Explaining that many strikes were carried out on Al-Qaeda operatives in places where the capacities of that military in that country may not be able to get them, Obama confirmed that Pakistans lawless tribal zone was a target.So, obviously, a lot of these strikes have been in the FATA, and going after Al-Qaeda suspects who are up in very tough terrain along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said.For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones were already engaging in.US officials say Pakistans tribal belt provides sanctuary to Taliban fighting for 10 years in Afghanistan, Al-Qaeda groups plotting attacks on the West, Pakistani Taliban who routinely bomb Pakistan and other foreign fighters.