Working with Pakistan is always a daunting proposition, so it seems within reason that we might want to let them keep some of our relationship secret. And vice versa. But, the Chair of the Intelligence Committee, our very own Sen. Dianne Feinstein, might have just put the Pakistani government in some very hot water with their populace
A senior U.S. lawmaker said Thursday that unmanned CIA Predator aircraft operating in Pakistan are flown from an air base in that country, a revelation likely to embarrass the Pakistani government and complicate its counter-terrorism collaboration with the United States. (LAT 2/13/09)
More over the flip...
A senior U.S. lawmaker said Thursday that unmanned CIA Predator aircraft operating in Pakistan are flown from an air base in that country, a revelation likely to embarrass the Pakistani government and complicate its counter-terrorism collaboration with the United States.
The disclosure by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, marked the first time a U.S. official had publicly commented on where the Predator aircraft patrolling Pakistan take off and land.
At a hearing, Feinstein expressed surprise over Pakistani opposition to the campaign of Predator-launched CIA missile strikes against Islamic extremist targets along Pakistan's northwestern border.
"As I understand it, these are flown out of a Pakistani base," she said.(LAT 2/13/09)
The Times went on to get some confirmation on our beloved Senator's statement. This is a really big deal, as the Pakistani populace is very, very opposed to the Predator drone strikes. Any Pakistani involvement in this would be very politically troublesome for the new president Asif Ali Zardari. If Pakistan was allowing us to use its territory as a base, surely that was conditioned on that remaining a secret.
If there's a winner here, it is Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-IN), who twittered the fact that he was on a secret mission to Baghdad. Good Job DiFi, you one-upped Pete Hoekstra for biggest leak of 2009...so far anyway.