It seems that terrorists have a new string to their bow, targeting the US military. Just a little cyber drone flying around in some very important software. The command centre of the US drone program has a virus. Now this might explain why we are not hearing about drone attacks so frequently lately.
US war drones hit with computer virus (http://www.smh.com.au/it-pro/security-it/us-war-drones-hit-with-computer-virus-20111010-1lgd5.html)
Once again the spooks have been shown to be inept

Lets see.
Sept 30 report.. Anwar al Awlaki 'killed' in airstrike

Oct 2 report.. US Predators killed a deputy of Mullah Nazir, who is considered to be a "good Taliban" commander by the Pakistani military, in a drone attack late last week.

Oct 4 report...
Abdul Fettah al Almani, the head of the so-called German Taliban Mujahideen, was killed in a US drone attack.

Oct 5 report
Dilawar, the Haqqani Network commander, was killed "during a precision airstrike" in the district of Musa Khel in the eastern Afghan province of Khost. Two of his "associates" were also killed in the strike.
Dilawar was "a principal subordinate to Haji Mali Khan," the Haqqani Network's senior commander for Afghanistan and the maternal uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group's operational leader. Khan was captured last week during a raid in Musa Khel.

Oct 6 report..
Unmanned US Predators operated by the CIA and the Joint Special Operations command killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters during an airstrike in southern Yemen .

The strike took place in the Al Arqoub area east of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan in southern Yemen. Seven fighters were also wounded in the strike. .

Yup the spooks have been shown inept and the Predators have stopped taking out enemy .

Suggest that it is not accurate that when the main media decides not to report successes ,and only reports set-backs ,that it doesn't mean they aren't happening.

lets see.
Sept 30 report.. Anwar al Awlaki 'killed' in airstrike

Oct 2 report ..US Predators killed a deputy of Mullah Nazir, who is considered to be a "good Taliban" commander by the Pakistani military, in a drone attack late last week.

Oct 4 report ...
Abdul Fettah al Almani, the head of the so-called German Taliban Mujahideen, was killed in a US drone attack.

Oct 5 report
Dilawar, the Haqqani Network commander, was killed "during a precision airstrike" in the district of Musa Khel in the eastern Afghan province of Khost. Two of his "associates" were also killed in the strike.
Dilawar was "a principal subordinate to Haji Mali Khan," the Haqqani Network's senior commander for Afghanistan and the maternal uncle of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group's operational leader. Khan was captured last week during a raid in Musa Khel.

Oct 6 report ..
Unmanned US Predators operated by the CIA and the Joint Special Operations command killed five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula fighters during an airstrike in southern Yemen .

The strike took place in the Al Arqoub area east of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan in southern Yemen. Seven fighters were also wounded in the strike. .

Yup the spooks have been shown inept and the Predators have stopped taking out enemy .

Suggest that it is not accurate that when the main media decides not to report successes ,and only reports set-backs ,that it doesn't mean they aren't happening.

Have you noted that fewer reports are coming out of Pakistan, the attacks seem to be elsewhere. Look, you have to get these guys one way or another, it is war but it doesn't avoid the issue that a facility run by spooks has been successfully attacked, so inept, yes, non operational, no, and no, you didn't manage to deflect that one

3 of 5 drone attacks in Afpakia this week . Why does it matter where AQ is hit ?

3 of 5 drone attacks in Afpakia this week . Why does it matter where AQ is hit ?

I think it is interesting how things are changing and Afpakia isn't a definition of what is going on. Drone attacks are rare in Afghanistan but were prevelent in tribal Pakistan. I think the focus has shifted because of the assassination of the Afghani peace envoy. They are focusing on the Haggani's, the proxy for Pakistan. Perhaps it is a sop to Pakistan after the Bin Laden incursion and just perhaps it looks good to be bombing Al Qaeda as we apprach the election campaign

To his credit ,the President has been attacking the Taliban where it lives. All the strikes above were high valued targets that weaken the enemy.
The cyber attack on the drones is expected... Do we not expect the enemy to fight back ? Based on that programming will be changed and security measures hardened .

The real question is ,to what end ? If the President continues to stick to a date certain exit then all of it's for nothing .

To his credit ,the President has been attacking the Taliban where it lives. All the strikes above were high valued targets that weaken the enemy.
The cyber attack on the drones is expected ... Do we not expect the enemy to fight back ? Based on that programming will be changed and security measures hardened .

The real question is ,to what end ? If the President continues to stick to a date certain exit then all of it's for nothing .

Tom are you saying you now fight a sophisticated enemy? I though you were fighting tribal people, backward Muslims in one of the most backward places on Earth. I think these guys have help and I would be looking right at Pakistan or the Iranians, both of whom would love to see you get your a$$es kicked

Security measures hardened, didn't we hear that ten years ago?

I agree why are we doing this? To look good? To earn that peace prize? To kill a few more towel headed mullahs? There appears to be little purpose, it certainly isn't to kick Al Qaeda a$$. Been there, done that! I know, it is to get beyond the next election

Nahh Obama continued the policy of targeting enemy leaders with drones from the beginning of his term. It is a good policy. Let them have sleepless nights that they will end up as pink mist .
You may think they are backward tribals but I don't underestimate enemies . They are clearly backed by at least the ISI which is a very sophisticated orgainzation.

So then the US is in a clandestine war with the Pakistani government, so nuke them and leave

What I'm going to write won't be news to you .

The Pakis housed and gave sanctuary to OBL for most of a decade... the Haqqanis that staged the attack on the US embassy in Kabul are an ISI front network dating back to the times of the Soviet jihad .(the attack was their attempt at a "Tet moment").
Now it turns out that the IEDs used on Afghanistan are made in Pakistan.
Majority of IEDs are traced to Pakistan ? USATODAY.com (http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/story/2011-10-02/ieds-traced-to-pakistan/50638686/1)

When President Bush said to the nations of the world that you are either for us or against us it was a not-so-subtle warning to the Pakistanis . By the threat he was able to secure a degree of cooperation of some importance (like a land route for supplying troops ) . But that threat came with a price I believe. The quid pro quo was ignoring the degree of duplicity by the Pakis.

When you look at AfPakia in the larger context of the Pakistan India conflict then it is clear that Afghanistan represents greater strategic importance to Pakistan than it does for us . There is no way they will permit a sitting government there that is not essentially a satellite of Pakistan . If we are willing to accept that premise then there can be a resolution that doesn't require a confrontation with Pakistan.

But that isn't the current Karzai regime.
Hamid Karzai's two-day India trip starts today - The Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Hamid-Karzais-two-day-India-trip-starts-today/articleshow/10224924.cms)

The question the US has to ask is ,what is our strategic reason for investing anymore in Afghanistan ? Is Karzai the partner we need ? If we determine it important then we will have to eventually deal with Pakistan.

The question the US has to ask is ,what is our strategic reason for investing anymore in Afghanistan ? Is Karzai the partner we need ? If we determine it important then we will have to eventually deal with Pakistan.

Tom the only importance Pakistan has to the US is it is a nuclear armed nation, and the home of a number of terrorist organisations. Pakistani's have been involved in many serious terror attacks so it cannot be ignored. The fear, as you are aware, is the possibility of these terrorists acquiring nuclear capability from Pakistan. This risk is high because Pakistan is close to being a failed state. Withdrawal of US aid would see rapid collapse.

Afghanistan is of little interest and little strategic value. US presence is useful to put pressure on Iran but destabilises the region. Pakistan sees Afghanistan as a buffer state against Iranian and Russian expansionism. They learned the lessons of the great game at the knee of the British and they are well aware that many invading armies in history came through Afghanistan. They would approve a Pustun homeland state where they would have influence, but Pakistani politicians like Khan view the Pustan as uncivilised and so better in Afghanistan than Pakistan. The Pustun are an inherited problem, a left over from the partition that Pakistan was lumped with

What is forgotten in all of this is how proud and arrogrant these people are. They have no intention of ceeding what they see as their place in the world to an interloper or to a traditional enemy