Increased U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan killing few high-value militants

By Greg Miller

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 21, 2011; 12:07 AM

CIA drone attacks in Pakistan killed at least 581 militants last year, according to independent estimates. The number of those militants noteworthy enough to appear on a U.S. list of most-wanted terrorists: two.

Despite a major escalation in the number of unmanned Predator strikes being carried out under the Obama administration, data from government and independent sources indicate that the number of high-ranking militants being killed as a result has either slipped or barely increased.

Even more generous counts - which indicate that the CIA killed as many as 13 "high-value targets" - suggest that the drone program is hitting senior operatives only a fraction of the time.

....Increased U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan killing few high-value militants