Shamsi base vacation wont hurt US air war

KARACHI (Reuters) - The US decision to vacate a remote base used for staging drone flights directed at militants will have little impact on the American air campaign, a senior military source said on Monday, but the move is a big political win for Pakistan. A military source said their departure would have little impact on the drone campaign, which is hugely unpopular in the country. The Shamsi base was more of a maintenance and refueling base for the drones, while most of the operations are conducted from across the border, he said. Technically speaking, yes, the vacation of this base should have an impact on the drone operations, but it remains to be seen as to how big an impact this would be. The source said the United States had at least two other bases in Afghanistan it could use. Pakistanis saw the US departure as a significant victory. Its a big move politically, and does show that we are asserting ourselves and wont tolerate any such acts any more, the senior military source said. It also shows that the military as well as the government are on the same note on this issue, and so I will call it a significant move to get the base vacated.