The US bombing campaign in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan has always been problematic, simply because of the number of civilian casualties it has caused. Yet, more importantly, adopting such a campaign has to be examined within the broader perspective of the strategy being implemented in that region.
Over the past few weeks, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has drastically increased the bombing campaign in the mountains along the Afghan border. This is being carried out as part of a plan to cripple the Taliban in its stronghold. The CIA has launched 20 drone attacks this month alone — the most so far in a single month. US military helicopters have also intensified their air strikes in various areas.
There is a reason for the adoption of such an aggressive tactic — the number of causalities among American troops has been increasing. In addition, there is a general level of frustration as not all parties involved in the conflict share the same stance on dealing with militants. But none of these factors justify the high civilian death toll. As a matter of fact, it is indicative of a major flaw in the current policy.
