Report: Pakistan Deal Lets U.S. Drones Strike Bin Laden

CIA-operated Predator drones may launch strikes against Usama bin Laden without prior permission from Pakistan, according to people familiar with the standing agreement between the U.S. and Islamabad. In an exclusive report, one source told The Washington Times that the agreement was granted by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf early in the Iraqi war if U.S. forces located bin Laden in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), where he is thought to be in hiding. The arrangement was disclosed to The Washington Times as frustration grows in the Pentagon and in the CIA over bin Laden's ability to avoid capture seven years into the war. Pakistan prohibits U.S. military forces on its soil, limiting the American military ground presence to scores of CIA officers and paramilitary officials. Nadeem Kiani, spokesman... [read full story]