Posted on 10/23/2013 1:46:54 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called for an end to U.S. drone strikes inside his country, saying they are a "major irritant" in bilateral ties.
Sharif, who was scheduled to meet U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday, spoke out against the drone strikes in a speech at the U.S. Institute of Peace, even as the rights groups Amnesty International issued a report highly critical of the U.S. campaign designed to eliminate militants using their Pakistani sanctuaries to launch attacks against U.S. and NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
U.S. officials say Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, where some of the recent drone strikes have occurred, has long been a sanctuary for al-Qaida terrorists and the Haqqani network militants, blamed for some of the deadliest attacks in Afghanistan.
One of Sharif's objectives of his U.S. visit is to convince Obama and other U.S. leaders the drone program stands in the way of bilateral relations which have been rocky in recent years, although the United States considers Pakistan an ally in the fight against terrorism. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
When Pakistan stops being a cesspool for radical Islam, we can stop but we should step up the attacks - knocking out as many as possible and besides, it’s great practice for the guys at the remote controls...
Obama will remind him “We have your GPS address.”
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