US Needs Drone Bases to Hit Targets in Pakistan

One of the casualties of the 'zero option' (no troops left in Afghanistan after December 2014) will be the lack of a base from which to operate the drones or UAVs that strike high-value targets in Pakistan. Currently the drones can operate out of bases in Afghanistan but if the Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) is not signed then these drone bases will be closed. Both the military and the CIA operate drones at the current time in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Should the BSA not be signed by either Karzai or the president that is elected in the April 2014 presidential elections then the United States will have to negotiate with other Central Asian countries for the use of a base to launch the Predators or Reapers. Drone attacks into Pakistan are down in the last few years. In 2010 there were about 117 attacks; last year in 2013 there were 28 drone attacks into Pakistan. Read more on this topic in "U.S. seeks new bases for drones targeting Al Qaeda in Pakistan", The Los Angeles Times, February 16, 2014.