I wonder if anyone asked their permission.
Whose permission? Pakistan's?
It seems so. This appears to be an extention of the 2004 agreement that allows NATO to fire artillery over the border (but not send in troops) if Taliban are seen crossing into Pakistan.
There also seems to be some agreement (everyone sez) concerning Shamsi Airbase (in Pakistan) where the CIA flies it's drones from.
All Predators take off from inside Pakistan and land inside Pakistan. This is to get maximum time over target for spying.
If they flew in from Afghanistan (though they do on some missions) they won't have enough fuel to stay there for too long.
All this can't be done without "permissions" and agreements, a mile long.
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Pakistan allowed the CIA to secretly launch missile-equipped Predators from its soil into Afghanistan during the war to oust the Taliban, the paper reported. Pakistan has continued to allow unmanned CIA planes to fly over the country.
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The government of Pakistan has agreed to allow CIA-operated drones to strike Osama bin Laden at any time and without prior permission from Islamabad if he is spotted inside the country, the Washington Times reported Wednesday.
Sources who spoke to the Times said the agreement was struck with the U.S. government by President Pervez Musharraf early on in the global war on terror, if American spy drones spot bin Laden in the open in the rugged tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
The paper said the standing agreement was a unique exception in Pakistan, which is politically sensitive to U.S. counterterrorism operations.
Details of the deal come as frustration mounts within the CIA and Defense Department over the fact that, seven years into President Bush's waning presidency, bin Laden - responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks - remains at large, the paper said.
Pakistan has barred U.S. military ground forces from setting foot on its soil, and has limited the American presence in the country to a handful of CIA operatives and paramilitary operators.
For other suspected militant targets, the CIA must coordinate with Islamabad before making any drone-launched attack. Bin Laden, however, is the lone exception to that rule, said the paper.
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