10 April 2013
US carried out its first drone killing at the request of Pakistan, in exchange for access to airspace
The New York Times reports that the first person killed by a US drone attack, in 2004, was victim of a secret deal, under which the C.I.A. had agreed to kill him at the request of Pakistan. The victim, Mr. Muhammad, was not a top operative of Al Qaeda, but a Pakistani ally of the Taliban who led a tribal rebellion and was marked by Pakistan as an enemy of the state. The C.I.A. agreed to kill him in exchange for access to airspace it had long sought, in order to be able to use drones to hunt down its own enemies.
Source: The New York Times | A Secret Deal on Drones, Sealed in Blood