US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Washington is considering supplying Pakistan with unarmed drone aircraft in an attempt to boost the "war on terror."
Gates disclosed the plan to a Pakistani television reporter on Thursday during his visit to Islamabad.
"We are in partnership with the Pakistani military and we are working to give them their own intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance vehicles, both aircraft and drones," Gates said.
American officials to date have rejected giving Pakistan the advanced armed drone technology. US drones currently conduct regular strikes within the country.
According to the Friday edition of New York Times, the Shadow surveillance drone appears to be a compromise aimed at enticing Pakistan further into the war.
CIA-operated assaults have resulted in mostly civilian deaths and have failed to target top militant leaders. More than 70 US drone missile strikes have killed at least 662 people in Pakistan since August, 2008.
US officials rarely discuss the strikes and Pakistan publicly condemns the strikes. Western media reports, however, say the strikes have Islamabad's tacit approval.
Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=116778§ionid=351020401.
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