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Time to rethink drones
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Zeenia Satti
The level of NATO's disregard for civilian lives in Central Asia revealed by the recent WikiLeaks warrants an immediate examination of America's drone usage in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Pentagon needs to release an in-depth strategic evaluation of the 'objectives' of the drone attacks in Pakistan, their 'achievement' on the ground and their 'net strategic contribution' to the war against the Taliban on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border.
The international community must fathom the unimaginable terror that is unleashed on non-combatants, on hapless villagers, by drones flying relentlessly over their heads and striking at will. Imagine being a ten-year-old in such an environment who is fully cognisant of the destructive potential of the drones because she has either witnessed the horror firsthand or heard graphic accounts of it.
Imagine the nervousness of the child who knows that not one of the adults she trusts -- her father, mother, grandfather, elder brother or sister -- can prevent the overhead flying machine from killing her, and her entire family, no matter where they hide. Imagine the terrifying insecurity of the child for the entire length of time (several hours) the drone flies overhead continuously. Imagine the child going to sleep with intense terror. Imagine her waking up with it, living with it, day in and day out. Drone violence is psychologically maiming the next generation of FATA's inhabitants.
Drones do not hit conventional strategic targets such as airports, bridges, arms' factories, soldiers' barracks etc. Mainly, ordinary homes are bombed, pulverising women and children with impunity. Drone attacks are not preceded by air raid signals. There are no designated sensitive areas the population can distance itself from to avoid strikes. There is no opposing air force to chase away the drones. The non-combatant population must cope with the terror of drones all by itself. There is demonstrated absence of reliable intelligence on the part of drone operators, leading to repeated wrongful deaths.
The longing for a saviour creates a special emotional vulnerability in FATA's population which works to the benefit of the Taliban. By turning into an indiscriminate killing force due to false intelligence, drone attacks become the very disease of which they set out to be the cure.
Drones picked up intensity just as Pakistan launched its all-out offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and premised its ground strategy on raising local forces euphemistically called tribal lashkars. The very success of this strategy depends on political, military and psychological force-multiplier against the Taliban. Civilian casualties caused by drones nullify all the three, as fury and fear replace the rational pursuit of safety on which the lashkar strategy is based. Drones give weight to how the TTP explains and justifies its existence to others and to itself. By refusing to respect Pakistan's sovereignty, the US has created a political vulnerability for its chief ally in the war on terror -- the Pakistan military, and by extension, for itself.
Truth seems to be the first casualty of drone strikes when both Islamabad and Washington fail to identify the victims and do not explain how society is better off by their deaths. The announcement that these many militants were killed in the most recent drone attack does not make sense inside Pakistan's boundaries because there is no separatist movement in FATA, threatening the existence of Pakistan. The TTP merely seeks to enforce all over Pakistan an ideology that has been qualified as bigoted. Throughout history, bad ideas have been replaced by better, sounder ideas. The American counter-Taliban idea is to put corrupt individuals in power and then use them to fight the Taliban! Fighting bigotry with corruption can only lead to stalemate as both are equally irrelevant to progress.
Notwithstanding the violation of principled warfare, drones are not rational violence when examined against the Pentagon's stated objective of ridding FATA of Taliban influence. The death of non-combatants by drones feeds anger in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This promotes Talibanisation in KP and elsewhere in Pakistan because the TTP is the only counter-state movement at present. Drones are feeding negatively into not only Pakistan's war but also America's war. With Islamabad continuing its condemnation of drones and drones continuing attacks, the international law becomes irrelevant. The message to Pakistan's youth is that force is the only law and only those who resort to it have a chance at survival. In such a condition, the recruitment enjoyed by the TTP need not stem from shared beliefs. Even secular angry men may join the movement in order to demonstrate that they are not mere animals but human beings who have the right to protect themselves against unprovoked attacks. In war times, this will only deepen and enlarge the battlefield, militarily for Pakistan and strategically for the US.
President Obama has stated on record during his pre-election visit to Israel that if the room where his little daughters sleep at night could be struck by a missile any moment, he would not hesitate to wage war to stop the attackers. Obama must be made to see drone-related data that his generals have chosen not to assemble. The recent WikiLeaks reports demand a re-examination of the Pentagon's drone strikes. The Pakistani media, civil society and NADRA need to assemble and disseminate data on minor citizens of FATA. The All Pakistan Psychologists Association needs to produce a composite study on the long-term effects of drone violence on the child population of FATA which is being terrorised for the last five years with terror having intensified over the last two.
International mental health NGOs such as Psychology Beyond Borders should be taken on board to spread awareness of the issue. The American Psychological Association should be invited and urged to place the matter before US lawmakers. Islamabad must take this matter up bilaterally with the Obama administration and also at the UN.
Whether or not they strike, drones are the weapon of mass mental destruction of the entire next generation of FATA, the ultimate non-combatants.
The writer is a consultant on energy geopolitics. Email: zeenia. satti@post.harvard.edu
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
Zeenia Satti
The level of NATO's disregard for civilian lives in Central Asia revealed by the recent WikiLeaks warrants an immediate examination of America's drone usage in Pakistan's tribal areas. The Pentagon needs to release an in-depth strategic evaluation of the 'objectives' of the drone attacks in Pakistan, their 'achievement' on the ground and their 'net strategic contribution' to the war against the Taliban on both sides of the Pak-Afghan border.
The international community must fathom the unimaginable terror that is unleashed on non-combatants, on hapless villagers, by drones flying relentlessly over their heads and striking at will. Imagine being a ten-year-old in such an environment who is fully cognisant of the destructive potential of the drones because she has either witnessed the horror firsthand or heard graphic accounts of it.
Imagine the nervousness of the child who knows that not one of the adults she trusts -- her father, mother, grandfather, elder brother or sister -- can prevent the overhead flying machine from killing her, and her entire family, no matter where they hide. Imagine the terrifying insecurity of the child for the entire length of time (several hours) the drone flies overhead continuously. Imagine the child going to sleep with intense terror. Imagine her waking up with it, living with it, day in and day out. Drone violence is psychologically maiming the next generation of FATA's inhabitants.
Drones do not hit conventional strategic targets such as airports, bridges, arms' factories, soldiers' barracks etc. Mainly, ordinary homes are bombed, pulverising women and children with impunity. Drone attacks are not preceded by air raid signals. There are no designated sensitive areas the population can distance itself from to avoid strikes. There is no opposing air force to chase away the drones. The non-combatant population must cope with the terror of drones all by itself. There is demonstrated absence of reliable intelligence on the part of drone operators, leading to repeated wrongful deaths.
The longing for a saviour creates a special emotional vulnerability in FATA's population which works to the benefit of the Taliban. By turning into an indiscriminate killing force due to false intelligence, drone attacks become the very disease of which they set out to be the cure.
Drones picked up intensity just as Pakistan launched its all-out offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and premised its ground strategy on raising local forces euphemistically called tribal lashkars. The very success of this strategy depends on political, military and psychological force-multiplier against the Taliban. Civilian casualties caused by drones nullify all the three, as fury and fear replace the rational pursuit of safety on which the lashkar strategy is based. Drones give weight to how the TTP explains and justifies its existence to others and to itself. By refusing to respect Pakistan's sovereignty, the US has created a political vulnerability for its chief ally in the war on terror -- the Pakistan military, and by extension, for itself.
Truth seems to be the first casualty of drone strikes when both Islamabad and Washington fail to identify the victims and do not explain how society is better off by their deaths. The announcement that these many militants were killed in the most recent drone attack does not make sense inside Pakistan's boundaries because there is no separatist movement in FATA, threatening the existence of Pakistan. The TTP merely seeks to enforce all over Pakistan an ideology that has been qualified as bigoted. Throughout history, bad ideas have been replaced by better, sounder ideas. The American counter-Taliban idea is to put corrupt individuals in power and then use them to fight the Taliban! Fighting bigotry with corruption can only lead to stalemate as both are equally irrelevant to progress.
Notwithstanding the violation of principled warfare, drones are not rational violence when examined against the Pentagon's stated objective of ridding FATA of Taliban influence. The death of non-combatants by drones feeds anger in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This promotes Talibanisation in KP and elsewhere in Pakistan because the TTP is the only counter-state movement at present. Drones are feeding negatively into not only Pakistan's war but also America's war. With Islamabad continuing its condemnation of drones and drones continuing attacks, the international law becomes irrelevant. The message to Pakistan's youth is that force is the only law and only those who resort to it have a chance at survival. In such a condition, the recruitment enjoyed by the TTP need not stem from shared beliefs. Even secular angry men may join the movement in order to demonstrate that they are not mere animals but human beings who have the right to protect themselves against unprovoked attacks. In war times, this will only deepen and enlarge the battlefield, militarily for Pakistan and strategically for the US.
President Obama has stated on record during his pre-election visit to Israel that if the room where his little daughters sleep at night could be struck by a missile any moment, he would not hesitate to wage war to stop the attackers. Obama must be made to see drone-related data that his generals have chosen not to assemble. The recent WikiLeaks reports demand a re-examination of the Pentagon's drone strikes. The Pakistani media, civil society and NADRA need to assemble and disseminate data on minor citizens of FATA. The All Pakistan Psychologists Association needs to produce a composite study on the long-term effects of drone violence on the child population of FATA which is being terrorised for the last five years with terror having intensified over the last two.
International mental health NGOs such as Psychology Beyond Borders should be taken on board to spread awareness of the issue. The American Psychological Association should be invited and urged to place the matter before US lawmakers. Islamabad must take this matter up bilaterally with the Obama administration and also at the UN.
Whether or not they strike, drones are the weapon of mass mental destruction of the entire next generation of FATA, the ultimate non-combatants.
The writer is a consultant on energy geopolitics. Email: zeenia. satti@post.harvard.edu
