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A string of deadly suicide bombings have hit Northwest Pakistan recently – the Pakistani Taliban are claiming responsibility for the attacks, the latest of which killed 5 people and injured 45 this morning in Peshawar. The attacks are apparently in retaliation against the Pakistani military for an offensive in South Waziristan. Meanwhile, the White House last week authorized an expansion of the not-so-secret military drone program in Pakistan. The expansion coincides with Obama’s decision to commit to a troop surge in Afghanistan, but the administration is unwilling to publicly declare the parallel military action in Pakistan. During the President’s carefully crafted speech explaining his Afghanistan strategy, he said little about the US’ plans for Pakistan, even though the two countries are increasingly discussed as a combined threat to United States security. On Friday, New York Times reporter Scott Shane called the program “radical” and qualified that by stating, “For the first time in history, a civilian intelligence agency is using robots to carry out a military mission, selecting people for killing in a country where the United States is not officially at war.” The drone program enjoys bi-partisan support in Congress and US military officials say their actions in Pakistan are done with the knowledge and cooperation of the Pakistani Government. However, according to a Gallup poll over the summer, 67% of Pakistanis are against the attacks, with only 9-percent in favor. Additionally, a majority of Pakistanis polled ranked the US a greater threat to Pakistan than even India or the Taliban.

GUEST: Hamid Khan, Executive Director of South Asian Network