No, says State Dept., Drone Attacks in Pakistan Will Not Be Ending 'Very, Very Soon'

Following comments made by Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday, in which he said U.S. drone operations in Pakistan will end “very, very soon,” the State Department immediately backtracked saying there is no time-line for such a plan.

Speaking at a press briefing following Kerry’s comments made during a trip to Pakistan, Marie Harf—State Department Deputy Spokesperson—responded to questions over Kerry’s comments by saying “there is no exact timeline to provide,” and “Obviously, a lot of this is driven by the situation on the ground.”

Pushing the issue further, one reporter posed: “Well, he [Kerry] says he hopes it’ll be very, very soon. Is there any reason to think that it will be very, very soon? Are you talking about ending it very, very soon?”

Harf responded without clarifying any foreseeable end point, insinuating that the drone program will continue until the U.S. believes it has defeated al-Qaida in the region:

To that point the reporter referred to an argument made by many critics of the U.S. drone program and its use around the world—that as more drone strikes are used, more and more lives are taken, and a growing number of people become angry towards the U.S., thus strengthening the cause as well as the numbers of those fighting against U.S. forces.