The past year took Danger Room’s team of reporters from Afghanistan to Israel to Georgia, and from the Pentagon to a clandestine air base in Southwest Asia, in what has to be one the wildest years ever on the international stage. Here are our choices for the most important stories of 2009.
First up: The drone war over Pakistan. This time last year, it was most definitely underway. But in 2009, it kicked into high gear. The Obama administration launched more than 50 reported robotic strikes, killing several hundred people. Compare that to 2008, when there were just 36 drone attacks.