A Look at Drone Wars

A Blog in reference to Brian Glyn William’s “The CIA's Covert Predator Drone War in Pakistan, 2004–2010: The History of an Assassination Campaign” 

Drone War in Pakistan: What is it?

The drone war in Pakistan is referred to the hundreds of drone attacks made by the United States government since 2004 on targets in north-western Pakistan. The CIA sees the FATA area as the biggest threat to American domestic security, where thousands of Taliban militants harbour Al Qaeda agents (Williams, 2010, p. 5). As the Pakistani’s have little will to go after Taliban and Al Qaeda in the area, the CIA and Pakistani government have made a drone campaign possible. As a result, the Pakistani government had gone to great lengths to hide U.S. involvement, despite clear evidence and growing public protest. Although some high level terrorist leaders have been killed, the true issue with the drone war lays with the debated civilian deaths and immorality of drone strikes on the Pakistani people. 

Global Political-Military Issue

Drone strikes have become a major global political-military issue in Pakistan. Glyn Williams addresses the situation within the state, by discussing the history of the drone campaign and discusses whether the campaign is beneficial for the War on Terror. Analyzing the drone campaign in Pakistan through the political-military nexus may help shy light on the issue. In my opinion, the situation in Pakistan displays a situation when the political enables the military, as the United States’ War on Terror had been the political motive to drive an agreement with Pakistan and launch a drone campaign (Mayer, 2009, p. 3). As Pakistani government does not have the will to go after Taliban and Al Qaeda in the region, it is convenient for the U.S. to attack Pakistani people on Pakistani soil. Hence, why they have continued to cover up U.S. involvement despite approval of the attacks. The political enabled military due to contested political outcomes of terrorism. It is justified by the democratically elected politicians as state defense and security for the United States after the 9/11 attacks has created ground for attack. Therefore, the purpose of the military is to fight a war and ensure national security. In this particular conflict, the CIA is controlling the attacks from the United States while the terrorists group make up the military in Pakistan (Williams, 2010, p. 25). Analyzing the situation from the political, partisanism is evident for there are differences on the ideological spectrum, with a war of securing the hegemony against terrorist ideals. 

A Bone to Pick with Drone Wars

A woman supporter of Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf Movement of  Justice,
takes a part in rally against U.S. drone attacks in Pakistani tribal areas
(AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

The concept of drone wars is one I find difficult to swallow. In trying to understand the idea, I can not grasp how drone strikes are internationally permissible forms of combat? Not only is the use of drones unethical, it is a cowardly form of combat! How much power and gut does it take to sit behind a computer screen and push a button? The whole concept seems more like a video game than a military conquest. The victims are dehumanized, so far in physical proximity that it makes their execution easy. The detachment makes killing “terrorists” seem more like a game, with less beating on the morale than a true military operation. The depiction of “execution without trial” is precisely what the drone war has created (Williams, 2010, p. 6). Despite ongoing debates of civilian death tolls, innocent civilians are unquestionable victims! the “collateral damage” is the largest U.S. execution campaign since the Vietnam War, yet the international community allows this? Innocent children, mothers and grandmothers are dying due to these drone strikes with absolutely no way to defend themselves! I cannot seem to understand how the Obama Administration can swallow such immorality while simultaneously preaching humanitarian outreach! Not only is it undemocratic, but hypocritical! The backlash of Anti-Americanism the drone campaign has unleashed will surely come to haunt the United States in the future. The children who lost their parents, and siblings will undoubtedly have a score to settle with the United States, with a vengeance. It is foolish to think otherwise. As Williams points out that 82 per cent of Pakistanis believing the drone strikes are unjustified, it can be expected the civil unrest will magnify in the years to come, as the Pakistani government continues to loudly condemn the attacks (Williams, 2010, p. 15). The concept of a drone “war” in Pakistan does not meet my understanding of the term, as civilians who are the primary victims have no connection to the “War on Terror and no way of defending themselves in this “war”. It is therefore an unofficially waged and unethical warfare. 

A Pakistani civilian's view: 

A 9 year old girl questions why her grandmother was killed in a drone attack...

Drone wars have unleashed a dangerous game in the military arena. In trying to wrap my mind around the justification of drone strikes, I cannot help to think that the U.S. are no different from the terrorists harboring in Pakistan. They are instilling fear on civilians and killing without discrimination, making them truly no different than the Al Qaeda leaders they are working so hard to rid. Maybe it’s time to look in the mirror, America, before dropping your next drone in Pakistan. 

References: 

Mayer, J. (2009). The predator war: What are the risks of the c.i.a.’s covert drone program?. THE POLITICAL SCENE, 1-22. Retrieved from http://www.beaconschool.org/~bfaithfu/mayerdrones.pdf

Scanhill, J. (2009, 11 23). The secret us war in pakistan. The Nation. Retrieved from http://www.kean.edu/~jkeil/Welcome_files/Scahill_Pakistan.pdf

Williams, B. (2010). The cia's covert predator drone war in pakistan, 2004–2010: The history of an assassination campaign. (Vol. 33, pp. 5-25). Brighton: Routledge.