Secret Memos Show Depth of U.S.-Pakistan Cooperation on Drones

Files show Pakistani officials secretly endorsed program for years and received classified briefings on strikes

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Just days after reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch blasted U.S. drone strikes for causing civilian casualties, newly-leaked CIA documents show the extent of Pakistani cooperation with America’s drone program.

The Washington Post obtained top secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic cables that detail how the Pakistani government secretly endorsed the drone campaign for years, all while denouncing the strikes in public. The documents detail more than 65 strikes and describe how Pakistani officials received classified briefings about the resulting casualty counts.  

The leaked documents, according to the Post, also provide a detailed timeline of the evolution of the CIA drone program over the past few years. The Pakistani Embassy did not respond to the Post‘s request for comment and the CIA declined to comment, but did not dispute the authenticity of the documents.

[Washington Post]