A
WHAT'S THAT IN
THE SKY!
Boom
Suspected
US Drone Strike Kills 9
SAL War RoomA suspected U.S.
drone strike killed nine people Saturday
in an attack that targeted a militant
compound in Pakistan's volatile tribal
region, authorities said.
The
casualties are believed to be members of
the Pakistan Taliban, said Muhammad Amin,
a senior government official from the
region.
A
drone fired two missiles at a compound in
the Shawal mountain region of North
Waziristan, according to two Pakistani
security officials, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to release details to the
media.
North
Waziristan, one of seven tribal regions
along the Afghan border, is widely
believed to be a haven for militant
groups and has been a repeated target of
drone strikes.
There
has been a sharp drop in the number of
drone attacks in Pakistan since a
November NATO airstrike killed 24
Pakistani soldiers on the country's
border with Afghanistan, driving U.S.-
Pakistan relations to a low point.
U.S.
officials rarely discuss the CIA's drone
program in Pakistan, though privately
they have said the covert strikes are
legal and an effective tactic in the
fight against extremists. (More.)
DR
STRANGELOVE
Russia
Threatens To Strike
NATO
Missile Defense Sites
SAL
WAR ROOM
Russia’s
most senior military officer said
Thursday that Moscow would preemptively
strike and destroy U.S.-led NATO missile
defense sites in Eastern Europe if talks
with Washington about the system continue
to stall.
“A decision
to use destructive force preemptively
will be taken if the situation
worsens,” Russian Chief of General
Staff Nikolai Makarov said at an
international missile defense conference
in Moscow attended by senior U.S. and
NATO officials. (More.)
JUST IN
CASE
Pentagon
Is Planning ‘Contingency’ For
Iran
And
NKorea
SAL WAR ROOM
The US military
is discussing significant changes in its
war plans to adhere to President
Obama’s new strategic guidance that
downplays preparing for conflicts such as
Iraq and Afghanistan, and counts on
allies to provide additional troops.
War planning for
Iran is now the most pressing scenario,
or what the Pentagon calls a contingency.
U.S. Central
Command believes it can destroy or
significantly degrade Iran’s
conventional armed forces in about three
weeks using air and sea strikes,
according to a defense source familiar
with the discussions.
Such strikes are
an option in a response to Tehran’s
striking U.S. and international ships in
the Persian Gulf and attempting to close
the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through
which about one-fifth of the world’s
oil is transported. (More.)
|
