Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011

A very interesting look at the effects of the American air strikes against al Qaeda and Taliban in Pakistan. That the civilian casualties are so low gives lie to the liberal's claims of massive civilian casualties. Frankly, the air war has proved to be very effective in eliminating terrorist leadership. The only thing that could improve the effort is more strikes.

FROM LONGWARJOURNAL.ORG:

Charting the data for US airstrikes in Pakistan, 2004 - 2011

Created by Bill Roggio and Alexander Mayer

Since 2004, the US has been conducting a covert program to target and kill al Qaeda and Taliban commanders based in Pakistan's lawless northwest. The program has targeted top al Qaeda leaders, al Qaeda's external operations network, and Taliban leaders and fighters who threaten both the Afghan and Pakistani states.

The charts below look at the following: 1) the number of US airstrikes inside Pakistan per year; 2) civilian casualties vs. Taliban/al Qaeda casualties; 3) the distribution of strikes over time by tribal agencies; 4) the overall distribution of strikes, by tribal agencies; 5) the distribution of strikes over time by territories targeted; 6) the overall distribution of strikes, by territories targeted; and 7) the number of high value targets killed in territories managed by individual Taliban commanders.

The data is obtained from press reports from the Pakistani press (Daily Times, Dawn, Geo News, The News, and other outlets), as well as wire reports (AFP, Reuters, etc.), as well as reporting from The Long War Journal. Given the Taliban's control of the areas where strikes occur, and a dearth of reporters in those areas, the exact numbers for casualties are difficult to know.

For more details on the Predator program and its effects, see LWJ report, Analysis: US air campaign in Pakistan heats up. For a list of al Qaeda and Taliban leaders thought to have been killed in the attacks, see LWJ report, Senior al Qaeda and Taliban leaders killed in US airstrikes in Pakistan 2004 - 2011.

This page was last updated on Monday, August 22, 2011, 7:50 pm GMT. These seven charts will be updated when information about prior or new strikes comes to light.

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