US to continue with its drone strikes: Leon Panetta

Brushing aside Pakistan's objections, Defence Secretary Leon Panetta today said US will continue with its drone strikes.

"The United States is going to defend itself under any circumstances," Panetta told PBS news in an interview, while responding to a question on drone strikes inside Pakistan.

Though he did not specifically mention drones, his answers indicated that he was referring to the drone strikes.

Asked if drone strikes will continue no matter what the Pakistani government desires and wants, Panetta said, "Well, you know, without referring to those specific operations because they still remain covert operations..."

He was cut short by the anchor who said drone strikes were acknowledged recently by John Brennan, the top counter-terrorism advisor to the US President.

"There was some acknowledgement of the fact that, you know, that they're used but the basic operations remain sensitive and they remain classified.

"But let me just say this. We were attacked. The United States was attacked on 9/11. And we know who attacked us, we know that al-Qaeda was behind it, and we are going to do everything we can, use whatever operations we have to, in order to make sure that we protect this country and make sure that that kind of attack never happens again," Panetta said.