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Summary The US State Department and the CIA have differences over drone attacks in Pakistan.
A global news agency claimed that the American ambassador to Islamabad phoned Washington with an urgent plea to stop an imminent CIA drone strike against militants on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border.Ambassador Cameron Munter’s request was forwarded to the head of the CIA, who dismissed it.He feared the timing of the attack would further damage ties with Islamabad, coming only a day after the government grudgingly freed a CIA contractor held for weeks for killing two Pakistanis, the news agency reported.US officials said Leon Panetta’s decision was driven by anger at Pakistan for imprisoning Raymond Davis for so long and a belief that the militants being targeted were too important to pass up.The attacks have also strained the relationship between the US State Department and the CIA, where officials argue that killing militants who threaten US interests should take priority over political considerations, said US officials.According to AP, there were differences also between Munter and the CIA station chief in Islamabad, who recently left his post because of illness, said a senior Western official in the region.The news agency quoted Some US officials as saying, ”When the doors are closed they are shouting at each other, but once the doors are open they are congenial in front of the embassy staff,” said the official.
