tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post1754348887714373648..comments2024-03-28T16:15:19.319-04:00Comments on Saideman's Semi-Spew: Death from Above: Good or Bad? [updated]Steve Saidemanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09881915512311951902noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8446351548038522890.post-3474783526890911152010-05-29T12:53:58.180-04:002010-05-29T12:53:58.180-04:00Steve: Agree with you on the question of whether o...Steve: Agree with you on the question of whether or not drone operations are worth the strategic costs they impose BECAUSE of the bogus information about them and the durability of these fictions at home and abroad--and especially in Pakistan beyond the FATA. <br /><br />As I argue in the FP piece, we can't know until the USG comes clean with 1) who was killed and 2) what their importance was and 3) how and/or to what extent did the strike degrade AF/AF TB/Pak TB capabilities.<br /><br />However, that said, killing Baitullah Mehsood wasn't to help us, it was to help the Pakistanis and was a long overdue, good faith effort to signal to Pakistan military and intelligence that we care about their interests as much as ours. So drone strikes are also useful within the context of US-Pakistan security cooperation even if they don't advance US interests directly.<br /><br />As I say in my article, the US and Pakistani publics deserve more information such that we can make informed decisions about the relative costs and benefits of this tool rather falling victim to a bunch of nonsense propagated by folks who should know better as well as those who don't.<br /><br />WarmestChristine Fairhttp://christinefair.netnoreply@blogger.com