C.I.A. bomb-loading contract with Xe / Blackwater terminated

NYT: Leon Panetta has cancelled the C.I.A.’s lucrative contract with Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater. The contract provided for the company to “load bombs on C.I.A. drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan.”  The existence of such a contract was leaked to the public back in August by the NYT.

Img courtesy of Red Eye, FoxNews.com

Drone missiles strike militant hideout in Pakistan

Al Jazeera: Shortly after midnight, drone missiles hit a compound commonly used by anti-government and al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Palooseen, North Waziristan. Eight were killed. In its report, Al Jazeera labeled them as “US drones” but cited no evidence to back up their claim.

The attack, shortly after midnight, occurred while Leon Panetta was in Islamabad meeting with officials and “hours after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a court building in the city, killing at least 19 people.”

Bomb outside Peshawar court kills 19

Al Jazeera: A suicide bomb outside the gates of a judicial complex in Peshawar, Pakistan has left 19 dead and 30 injured. The bombing occurred during rush hour, guaranteeing that plenty of lawyers, court personnel, and visitors would be present when the bomb detonated.

“The blast comes as military battles members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, one of the main anti-government groups, in the country’s semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan.”