Best Defense
Thomas E. Ricks' daily take on national security.

Admiral Mullen: Drone strikes in Pakistan are “very effective”

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apparently rejects the argument made by my CNAS colleagues Andrew Exum and David Kilcullen that Predator drone strikes in Pakistan are strategically counterproductive and should be drastically curtailed. If all you want to do is kill al Qaeda, they’re great. But if your larger strategic ...

By , a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy.
585720_090519_dronec2.jpg
585720_090519_dronec2.jpg

Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apparently rejects the argument made by my CNAS colleagues Andrew Exum and David Kilcullen that Predator drone strikes in Pakistan are strategically counterproductive and should be drastically curtailed. If all you want to do is kill al Qaeda, they’re great. But if your larger strategic goal is to try to help Pakistan from collapsing into the arms of Islamic extremists, maybe not such a good idea.

This is what Mullen had to say Monday about the strikes when asked at a Brookings Institution session:

As far as drone attacks themselves are concerned, the — we have — I have found them to be, and the commanders in the field have found them to be, very effective. I think they speak to not only effectiveness in these — in these kinds of campaigns, but also they speak to our future with respect to where we should go in the unmanned world. But they have to be done in a way that moves the strategy forward and doesn’t back us up.”

But as I understood it, the point Ex and the Crocodile (the Hootie and the Blowfish of the COIN world) were making was that the strikes DON’T move the strategy forward. So Mullen seems caught in an contradiction. He contains multitudes.

Old Steve Coll, who knows his Af-Pak from his elbow, discusses all this in his blog. But then he gets into a whole bunch of “narrative” stuff. 

David McNew/Getty Images

Thomas E. Ricks is a former contributing editor to Foreign Policy. Twitter: @tomricks1

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.