Pentagon Chief Admits U.S. Is At War In Pakistan -- The Danger Room

Pentagon Chief Admits U.S. Is At War In Pakistan -- The Danger Room

“We are fighting a war in the FATA, we are fighting a war against terrorism,” said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Wednesday, referring to the tribal areas of Pakistan that the U.S. has spent three years bombing heavily. Was that so hard to admit?

For years, it has been. Neither the Bush nor Obama administration has been forthright about the starkest fact of the recent war on terrorism: most of it takes place in western Pakistan. As CIA director and now Pentagon chief, Panetta has been one of the key architects of the accelerated drone-and-commando war the U.S. wages there in what amounts to an open secret. In 2009, the critical year in that acceleration, Danger Room boss Noah Shachtman started pressing the Obama administration for disclosure about a war the U.S. waged in all but name.

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Panetta: Patience With Pakistan 'Reaching Limits' - AP
US Patience on Pakistan 'Limited' - BBC
US Losing Patience With Pakistan, Says Panetta - Reuters
Panetta: Drone Campaign Will Continue in Pakistan - VOA
US Defends Pakistan Drone Strikes - BBC
New US Leverage Seen in Talks with Pakistan - AP
Bombing at Seminary Kills 6 in Southwest Pakistan - AP
Pakistan’s Chief Justice Removes Himself From Panel - NYT