The U.S. drone strike program has entered a period of re-evaluation and reconfiguration. Nowhere is this more evident and important than in Pakistan.

Key indicators of reassessment and public inquiry include a sustained decrease in the reported number of strikes since 2010 and an even sharper drop in recent months.

Members of Congress have become increasingly vocal in expressing their concerns, exemplified by John Brennan’s extended confirmation process for the CIA directorship and Sen Rand Paul’s 13-hour Senate filibuster over the US drone policy.

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama pledged to “continue to engage Congress” and to ensure proper transparency to the American public. Recently reported findings of the president’s intelligence advisory board that the US intelligence community has become too focused on military operations to the neglect of intelligence gathering, reflect American concerns over the drone strikes programme.

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This op-ed first appeared in Dawn on April 26, 2013

Photo courtesy: U.S. Air Force