US Airstrike Against Taliban Leader Crossed a Pakistani “Red Line”

US President Barack Obama ordered a drone strike that killed Taliban leader Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in Baluchistan – defying Pakistan’s request to limit such strikes to the northwestern tribal belt. Afghan leaders are frustrated by terrorists waging attacks against their country, then crossing the border for shelter in Pakistan. “Now, some Pakistani leaders are rattled, saying they fear the United States is gearing up to bring the war in Afghanistan closer to Pakistan’s home front,” write Tim Craig and Greg Miller. “Several U.S. officials said that Obama authorized the mission in a way that would essentially confront Islamabad publicly with Mansour’s presence and presumed protection in a region of Pakistan that has been off-limits to CIA drones.” One Pakistan analyst suggests that splintering the Taliban could open region to the Islamic State. The United States, at war against the Taliban at varying levels since 2001, maintains that terrorists threaten all countries, and some targets, like Al Qaeda ringleader Osama bin Laden, also killed in Pakistan, are too big and tempting to ignore. – YaleGlobal