Secretary of State Hillary Clinton backed the U.S. drone program which targets Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants in Pakistan’s tribal belt. The program has strained relations with Pakistan’s government, which views it as a breach of sovereignty that harms civilians. Clinton defended the strikes while attending the Global Counterterrorism Forum in Istanbul. “We will always maintain our right to use force against groups such as al Qaeda that have attacked us and still threaten us with imminent attack,” she said.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=156818