 AP Photo In mid 2008 the United States government substantially stepped up the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) over northwest Pakistan. Since then, Hellfire missiles and the drones that launch them have entered the lexicon of mainstream news. Barack Obama’s new US administration has intensified the use of pilotless aircraft to target al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Pakistan’s remote tribal areas. This has prompted renewed calls from the Pakistani government for the US to desist, because of civilian deaths and increasingly violent responses from militant groups. TAGGED: United States, al-Qaeda, Pakistan, Barack Obama, Taliban, United States government, Pakistani government, US administrationRECOMMENDED ARTICLES| As the Pakistani Taliban steps up its retaliation against its erstwhile benefactor, the Pakistani state, Wednesday's suicide bombing in Lahore and Thursday's in Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan in the embattled Northwest, are... more ›› |
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