Pakistan Demands End to CIA Drone Strikes

The US-Pakistan alliance forged in the wake of the September 11 attacks appears to be on the verge of collapsing. Pakistan has demanded that the US halt its drone attacks on suspected militants, and sharply reduce the number of CIA and Special Forces personnel in the country, reports the New York Times. The demand is part of the fallout from the arrest of a CIA contractor who killed two Pakistani men earlier this year, according to US and Pakistani officials.

Officials on both sides say intelligence ties are at their most frayed in a decade, the Wall Street Journal reports. The reduction in CIA and Special Forces staff was personally demanded by the chief of the Pakistani army. American officials sought to downplay tensions, saying that the Pakistanis are mainly seeking more information about US covert operations. The US "expects to continue its aggressive counter-terrorism operations in Pakistan. It would be unfortunate if the Pakistanis somehow stepped back from counter-terrorism efforts that protect Americans and their citizens alike," an American official said. (More Pakistan stories.)