The 28-year-old Pakistani accuses the president of robbing him of his father, three brothers and a nephew, all killed in a US drone attack a month after Obama first took office.
"The same person who attacked my home has gotten re-elected," he told Reuters in the capital, Islamabad, where he fled after the attack on his village in South Waziristan, one of several tribal areas near the Afghan border.
"Since yesterday, the pressure on my brain has increased. I remember all of the pain again."
In his re-election campaign, Obama gave no indication he would halt or alter the drone programme, which he embraced in his first term to kill al Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan without risking American lives.
"Whenever he has a chance, Obama will bite Muslims like a snake. Look at how many people he has killed with drone attacks," said Haji Abdul Jabar, whose 23-year-old son was killed in such a bombing.
Analysts say anger over the unmanned aircraft may have helped the Taliban gain recruits, complicating efforts to stabilise the unruly border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan. That could also hinder Obama's plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan in 2014.
Obama authorised nearly 300 drone strikes in Pakistan during his first four years in office, more than six times the number during the administration of George W Bush, according to the New America Foundation policy institute.
Since 2004, a total of 337 US drone strikes in Pakistan have killed between 1,908 and 3,225 people.
The institute estimates around 15 percent of those killed were non-militants, although that percentage has declined sharply to around 1-2 percent this year.
Washington says drone strikes are very accurate and cause minimal civilian deaths.
The Pakistani government says tens of thousands of Pakistanis have been killed in the fight against the Taliban insurgency.
Many were civilians caught in suicide bombings. Others were killed by the Pakistani army.
Hard to secure data on drone attacks
Getting accurate data on casualties and the effects of drones is extremely difficult since the government allows few foreigners into the tribal areas and the Taliban often seal off the sites of strikes.
While the aerial campaign has weakened al Qaeda, its ally, the Pakistani Taliban, remains a potent force despite a series of Pakistan army offensives against its strongholds in the northwest.
"We are amazed that Obama has been re-elected. But for us there is no difference between Obama and Romney; both are enemies. And we will keep up our jihad and fight alongside our Afghan brothers to get the Americans out of Afghanistan," said Pakistan Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan.
On Thursday, a suicide bomber rammed the gates of the Sachal Rangers Headquarters in Karachi, killing at least one official and wounding more than a dozen people.
Pakistanis were largely indifferent in the run-up to Tuesday's election, expecting little change to the drone attacks regardless of whether Obama or Republican challenger Mitt Romney won.
"Any American, whether Obama or Mitt Romney, is cruel," said Warshameen Jaan Haji, whose neighbourhood was struck by a drone last week, told Reuters on the eve of the election.
"I lost my wife in the drone attack and my children are injured. Whatever happens, it will be bad for Muslims."
For Khan, the February 2009 drone attack on his home left him as the main provider for 13 surviving family members, forcing him to move to Islamabad and work with a real estate company.
"When the Sandy hurricane came, I thought that Allah would wipe away America," he said. "America just wants to take over the world."
COMMENTS (47)
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@numbersnumbers: Dear numbers, You are obviously totally unaware of the horrific bombing campaign carried out by US/UK/French monsters who carried out their debauchery under the pseudonym of being air force personnel, after being called in by US introduced terrorists who were supposedly freedom fighters. I can send you the location of pictures which show the devastation, but then you would not believe the truth. Incidentally the so called popular Libyan Government, invented by the US, has not taken up residence in Libya to this point. They have not established enough security to move into Libya yet. They have taken up residence in Qatar, another US minion country. It is my understanding that the US are still attempting to subdue Libyan disgruntled residents who do not wish to have a US imposed Government.
@lovePak: So Osama bin Laden was not killed in the May 2nd raid on his compound in Abbottabad, and just "some innocent residents" but then you say that "OBL is not alive to verify it's (memo) authenticity"!!! Wow, was he killed or wasn't he???? As for that 2% you keep avoiding, President Obama expanded the targets for the drone program to include all levels of the militant structure, so even militant "soldiers" are at risk, AND THEY KNOW IT!
Once again, where does it say that 98% of drone strike victims are "civilians"???
@lovePak: WOW, Libya "(has) been bombed to destruction by American planes and the al-Qaeda they supported there. Please tell us about the pictures you must have showing Tripoli and Benghazzi completely destroyed, a virtual wasteland!!! Better yet, you can call the Libya Embassy in Pakistan to confirm all your comments, see number listed below:
Libya Embassy , Pakistan
12,Margalla Road,F-8/3 Islamabad Pakistan Phone: +92-51-851974 +92-51-851880 Fax: +92-51-261459 Email: libyanembassyisb@gmail.comstelands.
@Sexton Blake: Once again, Still waiting to hear from you as to WHO is killing those tens of thousands of Syrians. Is it “terrorrists” financed by the West, or the forces of Team Assad, backed up by his air force and Iran? Still waiting for you to tell us where it says that the civilian death rate from drone attacks is 98%!! Please give us us references (conspiracy bloggers not accepted) for the FACTS you speak of?
@Sexton You're far from alone, it's just that people who question what the media brings to us is risks being called a conspiracy theorist. And then automatically, everything we say becomes irrelevant because we're "crazy". And so alternative opinion is marginalized, but thankfully not completely erased.
@lovePak: Dear LovePak, It is so comforting to see that there are some people who can perceive reality. I thought I was completely on my own.
@numbersnumbers: Dear numbers, With people like you believing the ingenious propaganda we are constantly bombarded by it is quite apparent why the world is in such a mess. You obviously do do not wish to be confused with facts.
@numbers And the Arab Spring is a total joke. Tell me why only those countries that are against Israel are backed by the west for a regime change. Whereas in Bahrain, whose leaders are western puppets, the west supports the regime even when the government arrest the doctors who aided the injured protests. As much as Gaddafi was bad, Libya had the highest standard of living in Africa. And it's true that many were getting fed up of him, but the news that he was going to massacre Benghazi is plain rubbish, just an excuse to invade. And now that the invasion is over, Libya is probably 20 years behind where they were, they've been bombed to destruction by American planes and the al-Qaeda they supported there. General Wesley Clark had stated in 2007 that after 9/11, plans had already been made to invade and change the regimes of several middle eastern countries such as Somalia, Libya, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt and Sudan (maybe a few others). All of the above have either been targeted or are currently being targeted. How? By funding insurgencies like the FSA, most of whom aren't even Syrian but Jordanian, Qatari and other puppet states. The objective is to make Israel the unchallenged power of the Middle East by totally destroying the others. And the statement will be proven true if Lebanon has problems. Because as of the summers, my friend in Leb says there's no real problems. But let's see if it suddenly changes like the rest have.
@numbersnumbers Drones are a blessing to the terrorists. Because the Taliban can go to a village and get some 10 or so people on their side, but one drone strike and they have the whole village on their side. I choose to disbelieve every note and memo about OBL, maybe they could start by providing any sort of proof that he was actually killed in that raid, and not some innocent residents. And just think of how fake that particular memo could be. OBL is not alive to verify it's authenticity, they could easily forge it. Because no Taliban leader is actually too concerned about these drones, it's a blessing in disguise. 49 targets yes, but 3000 or so total killed. 2% is still 2%. And the fact is, every war-aged male is considered a "suspected militant", they are basically guilty until proven innocent. And they cannot be identified, therefore can't be proven innocent either. Also mentions the sort of activity they look for in their targets. They joke about how if a man does 3 jumping jacks, the compound is considered a terrorist camp. Go ahead and read the whole article, it's quite interesting.
@Sexton Blake: One of these days you could start analyzing accurate news rather than the conspiracy blogger rubbish you keep regurgitating! Still waiting to hear from you as to WHO is killing those tens of thousands of Syrians. Is it "terrorrists" financed by the West, or the forces of Team Assad, backed up by his air force and Iran? Still waiting for you to tell us where it says that the civilian death rate from drone attacks is 98%!!
@numbersnumbers: Dear numbers, You are a slow learner.
@lovePak:
Note that on pages 11-12, in the preface of the Living Under Drones report it says "The number of high-level targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is extremely low—estimated at just 2%"
On page 45, in the body of the Living Under Drones report where a more complete picture is given it says "Bergen and Braun also reported that since 2004, some 49 “militant leaders” have been killed in drone strikes, constituting "2% of all drone-related fatalities.”
The Bergan and Brown report refered to in both of the footnotes attached to these sections is a CNN article found at ( http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/05/opinion/bergen-obama-drone/index.html )
The COMPLETE section refered in the above Drone Report parts states that:
"-- Since it began in 2004, the drone campaign has killed 49 militant leaders whose deaths have been confirmed by at least two credible news sources. While this represents a significant blow to the militant chain of command, these 49 deaths account for only 2% of all drone-related fatalities."
"Osama bin Laden himself recognized the devastation that the drones were inflicting on his organization, writing a lengthy memo about the issue in October 2010 that was later recovered in the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where he was killed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs. In the memo to a lieutenant, bin Laden advised that his men leave the Pakistani tribal regions where the drone strikes have been overwhelmingly concentrated and head to a remote part of Afghanistan and he also suggested that his son Hamza decamp for the tiny, rich Persian Gulf kingdom of Qatar."
PLEASE Note that, the farther away from the basic quote in the CNN article that the Drone Report refers to, the quote appears to be parsed to change its meaning by the Drone Report Authors!
@numbers Fair enough: "http://livingunderdrones.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/StanfordNYULIVINGUNDERDRONES.pdf"
On pages 11-12, you can also read about follow up attacks and what not. It says 2% which is actually one in fifty. Knock yourself out!
@numbersnumbers: Dear numbers, One of these days you will start analyzing accurate news rather than the main stream rubbish you keep regurgitating. However, to give you credit you have not, to my knowledge, ever quoted the British BBC, so perhaps there is hope for you yet? Incidentally, we will forget, for the moment, the dreadful brutality that the US and others inflicted upon the poor Iraqis, but the Libyan exercise has to be the absolute pits in Western debauchery, and the whole thing was nothing to do with your so called Arab Spring. Rather, it was Western greed which wanted Libyan oil and increased control of the Middle East. The Western government terrorists fighting Libyan troops were sent in, armed and fully supported by US/UK/French military forces together with massive aircraft strikes and carpet bombing. How could a peaceful country such as Libya, which had done nothing wrong, stand up to such a withering display of Western firepower?
@Sexton Blake: WOW, no Arab spring exists!!!! Please go to Wikipedia and do a search for "Arab Spring" and see the description and extensive timeline of the events over the last twenty or so months! Their extensive coverage of the POPULAR UPRISINGS in the Arab world is very detailed. If you feel that Wikipedia is wrong, then you are free EDIT the information show so we can all read your version of THE TRUTH!!!! You can also read the online reports of the butchery and looming civil war in Syria on Al Jazeera and Asharq Alawsat! Of course if you think they are in error, they would probably be grateful for your corrections to their reporting!!! But really you should give us your credible references (conspiracy bloggers not accepted) that support you view on the "nonexistent" ARAB SPRING!
@lovePak: Please quote from the Stanford/NYU report where it states that "only one in fifty of those killed are actually terrorists"!!!! That should be easy since you have read the full report, haven't you????
@numbersnumbers Your beloved American universities Stanford and NYU came up with a survey and found only one in 50 of those killed are actual terrorists. And also found that the US also does "double-striking" which means they first strike to kill a number of people, and then strike once again to kill the first respondents to the hit area. That is the high morals of your ideals.
@numbersnumbers: Dear numbersnumbers, Everything you say is so totally incorrect one wonders where to start explaining how you have got it so wrong. I do not know where you come from, but it sounds as if you have been totally conditioned by Washington propaganda. You obviously believe Stanford University, which requires government handouts, but they still have a lot of statistics to produce such as how many millions of innocent people has US/NATO killed in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Sudan and several other countries. There has been no spontaneous uprising in those countries. On the contrary. The so called freedom fighter were American/NATO funded terrorists, and perhaps you have heard of Al Qaeda, Blackwater and its subsidiary terrorist companies. In Pakistan, almost all the problems have been created by America who illegally invaded Afghanistan and killed Taliban people at a level which can only be described as carnage. If you are correct about the ISI operating as spotters, which I do not believe, they cannot complain if the Taliban strike back can they? If there is to be any agreement between us I have to admit that Iran has shown Pakistan the way in how to stop US drones in their tracks.
@Sexton Blake: WOW, you must have been hiding under a rock now to hear about the "Arab Spring"! Please tell us that the people of Libya just loved Gaddafi, and did not rise up against him, just like the peoples of Tunisia and Egypt rose up against their dictators! And please tell us WHO has killed and is killing all those tens of thousands of Syrians over the last 20 odd months??? Is it THE WEST or is it Syrian "president" Assad???
@Sexton Blake: Once again, drone strikes depend on spotters (ISI agents) in the target area who pass on targeting infromation to the drone strike center. Such targets (militant compounds, vehicles, camps) are selected before the missions, then optically sighted and laser designated by the drone platform for the precision guided munition to strike. I believe that the Stanford/New York University Drone report discussed the casusalty rate and nowhere does it say that only 2% of casualites are militants! In their "numbers" section I they reference the three most accepted drone strike surveys that all show that the number killed are overwhelmingly militants. As for Pakistani efforts (or lack thereof), there would be no drone strikes if Pakistan had established its much moaned about "sovereignty" in nthe agencies that are now openly hosting militant groups.
@3footninja: and just where did you dream up the "2% success rate" you commented on???
It is amazing the way some contributors throw words around, such as terrorists or militants, and they are usually used as put-downs. What they do not mention is the terrorist activity of the big guys who are members of the Security Council. The Security Council members appear to invent a new terrorist organization on a monthly basis, and they appear to forget that the so called militants only organize themselves into a fighting force after the Security Council members have illegally invaded, killed and/or injured a million people or so. We will never know who is giving the Security Council minions their instructions, but so far they have attacked several African countries, and others, such as Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and killed several million people. We cannot excuse the so called militants, and or terrorists, but they have a lot of catching up to do. Without exercising our mental powers too much it does not require a great deal of effort to realize there are many thousands of dead Malala's we will never hear from as a result of Western brutality.
People are calling Malala incident a Drama can we say Drones are Drama too. There are no drones it is a myth.
I read recently that British bomber command used to boast that their W.W.2 bombing strikes were extremely accurate. However, many years after the war it appears that they were lucky to get within 3 miles, or so, of the actual target. Nowadays, US/NATO get a little closer using electronic navigation, but those devices do not tell them that the dead people are innocent victims. You basically have some young person at a base in Arizona/Nevada, guiding drones over Pakistan. All that person knows about the people below is what a GPS system tells him/her, which is that the drone is in a particular location. I do not believe that the non-militant death rate is only 1-2 percent. Just the reverse. The militant death rate is 1-2 percent and civilians are 98 percent. I feel extremely sorry for the people on the ground, and their loved ones who are left to grieve. I am led to believe that it would be very easy for the Pakistan military to electronically disrupt or destroy drones which are killing innocent people. Why don't they? They became very upset when soldiers were killed at Salala. Why not get upset when civilians are killed? After all, Pakistan technology is up with the big guys. Why not use it? Last but not least do not believe US/NATO propaganda.
This is the stupidest thing in the world. why?
its the governments responsibility to safe guard national interests. If they find drones unacceptable they are responsible for gunning them down. Just like if an indian aircraft enters our aircraft, under airspace law we can shoot it down (after warning it). Its time our government stopped playign the double game, they are respoinsible for these things not the US. Everyone is selfish and has their own self interests, we are responsible for guarding our own interests, we cant expect anyone else to. As far as my friends who are calling Taliban friends of IK, i ask them what option do we have but peace talks? We have been critisizing IK for making this statement, but at this point in time we need to stop our double game(which clearly we are incapable of) and do something about the situation. If anyone has any alternative solution other than peace talks lets hear itClearly we are losing out here, incase people didnt notice this is OUR war and we're not winning. Simple analysis shows that its easier for these fanatics to attack us since they have nothing to lose - but we do!
In light of my above arguments i would love to see a response!
Anecdotal evidence that the strikes are hitting the correct targets. Maybe it's time for Pakistan to take control of these territories so you can provide some credence to you "sovereignty" mantra.
@3footninja And 90% of the comments here are from anti-PTI people too or Indians.
@Ali S I don't know the basis of your comment there, some fools think the military is the solution to everything. If you ever listened to Imran Khan, you'd know he wants to rid the TTP from the narrative of Jihad that protects them. Without this Mujahid status, the TTP is no problem for the million armed men of the tribal areas, most of whom are against TTP. We won't even need the army except for support. How do you rid the narrative, disengage from the war on terror.
@AmericanMuse:
The answer is yes they do, infact they have a range of home made drones for both civilian and military purposes. Infact in the early 2000's Pakistan designed and made drones for surveillance purposes which the americans bought for their border with Mexico .The problem again is the government who are reluctant to engage in direct warfare with a superpower and not have a fall out with the current administration. You saw what happened to Gaddafi and Mubarak, I'm sure Zardari remembers as well!!.
I can't find much sympathy for people who would celebrate my death or most US soldier/civilians getting killed. It's also very difficult to find sympathy for people who hate you, too. Don't go saying "well if you stop x..." because that's bull. They will always always find a reason to hate and kill us. It's a fact those numbers are inaccurate, anyway. If you look at any human rights report concerning drone attacks they all have one thing in common. There's always a note saying that the numbers could not be confirmed whatsoever due to nobody having the ability to access the areas to actually investigate the claims. There's not a single one of you that knows better than them. Your knowledge is equal at best. So the figures are just one more lie if they're given even a hint of finality.
Drones fly because Pakistan government [elected by Pakistani people],either PPP PMLN or JUI F. and the army and SC off-course. Why Pakistani nation resists to go to Supreme court instead of shouting on the streets
pakistan is sovereign nation................
@3footninja:
Then kindly come up with a solution to deal with the extremists who have a 100% success rate at murdering civilians, attacking religious and public institutions AND get away with it. Dialogue you say? They've made a mockery of it 13 times already. Stop living in Imran Khan's fantasyland and welcome to the real world - practical solutions aren't always ideal.
@lovePak: im talking about all those who have an obsession with bashing PTI over their stance on drones (which happens to be as mindless as the drones they so vehemently support). obviously not those who went there with PTI's rally... hats off to all of them.
Even if Romney won it wouldn't have made much of a difference - any American president with a functioning brain would support the drone policy.
As if Romney is anti-dorne
@Aditya Randhawa: Any excuse for your psychopathic comment?
Why Muslims always think about Muslims only? Why not about all humans (Hindus, Christians, atheist, gays, etc)?
Why are you people blaming America when I've not heard a peep against the guy who is actually supposed to shoot down the Drones - Kayani - who is also supposed to be the most powerful man in Pakistan?
The situation is unheard of in Democracies.
When 26/11 happened the Home Minister of India had to quit, as well as the HM of Maharastra. Here in Pakistan, the citadel of Islam, the warriors can do anything as they please, even allow Foreign Powers to kill the citizens they are supposed to protect and the citizens will not say a word against the warriors of Islam.
Strange indeed.
US is doing what it thinks is necessary to protect their citizen's lives. If there were no Terrorists in Pakistan, do you think they would launch Drones? Who is supposed to rid Pakistan of Terrorists AND Drones?
Take a guess, its easy.
“When the Sandy hurricane came, I thought that Allah would wipe away America,” he said.
Yep. Shows their brilliant mentality.
This is so sad.. I FEEL ASHAMED BEING A PAKISTANI THAT WE JUST WATCH OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS GETTING KILLED
@3footninja I don't know what Pakistanis you are referring to as "educated liberals" who support drone attacks. No one supports drones here, the massive participation in the anti-drone rally in to Waziristan is proof that we are standing up against it.
Has someone ever thought why can't Govt of Pakistan put a stop on Drone attacks? Because we are partners in crime. Therefore, whoever is elected in America, will continue doing what they are doing, until we take a turn from the secret deals we have made with US. And, one should not forget that drones started with Bush-Mush regime, the escalation happened in Obama administration.
who cares
sad. unfortunately the "educated liberals" in our country think the same way too. for them a 2% success rate is a good enough justification for murdering thousands. very very unfortunate indeed. no wonder our country has down the drain. our declining moral and ethical standards have hit rock bottom.
its all about "winning hearts and minds of people" ..drones don't do that! (nor the million dollars of Aid)