U.s. Drone Attack Kills At Least 4 In Pakistan

[News_Editor]

<p>MIRANSHAH, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- At least four people were killed in the latest United States drone attack in Pakistan's tribal region, local authorities said Thursday.

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<p>The unmanned aircraft fired two missiles against a vehicle in the town of Datta Khel, located around 35 kilometers (22 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, which is not far from the Afghan border.

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<p>According to a local security official, as reported by the News International, four drones were flying around the area at midnight and targeted the vehicle.

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<p>Earlier in the year, Ben Emmerson, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, said the UN is opening an investigation into the deaths caused by U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, as well as Palestinian regions. The probe will also investigate the deaths and injuries of civilians as a result of U.S. drone strikes.

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<p>U.S. drone strikes have become relatively common during President Barack Obama's tenure in which the unmanned aircraft have targeted suspected militants, their hideouts, and training facilities. However, the number of civilians also killed during such attacks has remained uncertain.

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<p>The total number of deaths caused by drone strikes in 2012 stood well over 300, according to the Washington-based think tank New America Foundation, and as many as 3,239 individuals have been killed as a result of U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan alone between 2004 and January 2013.

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<p>About a year ago, in January 2012, President Obama, for the first time during his presidency, publicly acknowledged that U.S. drones regularly strike suspected militants along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He confirmed that many of these strikes are carried out in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects in tough terrain.

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<p>Pakistan's government has been public in its stance against the drone strikes, as local residents and officials have blamed them for killing innocent civilians and motivating young men to join the Taliban. Details about the alleged militants are usually not provided, and the U.S. government does not comment publicly on the strikes.

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<p>However, the U.S. has used them as an important tool in their fight against terrorism. In June 2012, al-Qaeda deputy leader Abu Yahya al-Libi was killed when an unmanned U.S. drone fired at least two missiles at a compound and a nearby pickup truck in the village of Hesokhel, located in the Mir Ali district just east of Miranshah. It was the most serious blow to al-Qaeda since U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden during a secret military operation in the Pakistani city of Abbotabad in May 2011.

</p> <p> (Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].) </p>

[jamhar]

These articles just drone on and on and on.....

[Boon Mee]

Americans will soon see those drones above their neighborhoods:

FAA Predicts 10,000 Drones Could Be In the Skies By 2020

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) predicts 10,000 commercial drones could be in the skies by 2020 after guidelines are approved. For now, Congress has asked
the FAA to write regulations on civil operation of small unmanned
aircraft systems in the national airspace and submit them by 2015

Big Brother will be watching.

[jamhar]

The majority will probably not the predator variety. Cost too much. Most will likely be the mini variety. What we use to call RC (radio controlled) planes/copters. If you include those, there are already millions flying in the US.

There are already manned helicopter flights used by the police everywhere, and Cessna flights by the highway patrols. I dont see where unmanned flights makes a difference legally.

Also "drones" use to be used as a designator for converter manned airplanes that were converted to RC planes to be used in missile tests as targets. I suspect that the use of the term "drone" came about to denote that these UAV's are EXPENSIVE! Not like your kids RC plane costing hundreds to thousands of dollars, but costing as much a fighter.

But the press picked up on the sound bite and rest is history. *sigh*