News Editor
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| John Santos |
Drone strikes, or targeted killings by unmanned aerial vehicles, began in 2004 under former President George W. Bush who used them to target terrorists in Pakistan. These strikes have become increasingly common under President Barack Obama’s administration, which promotes these strikes as high accuracy killings of leaders in terrorist organizations in Pakistan.
The truth is that these strikes are not that accurate and carry too much collateral damage. They are also illegal under international law, because they are “being conducted without the consent of the elected representatives of the people, or the legitimate Government of the State,” said Ben Emmerson, U.N. special reporter on human rights and counterterrorism.
In Pakistan, between 1,953 and 3,279 people have been killed in missile strikes by unmanned drones since 2004, and between 18% and 23% of those killed were labeled with a chillingly vague term: “non-militants.” Non-militant is a less direct way of saying civilians killed unintentionally by a drone missile.
Why are so many civilians killed by these strikes, which are supposed to be so accurate and efficient? The CIA is allowed to launch an attack on an individual based solely on their “signature,” or behavior, which is gathered through wiretaps and local informants. This allows the CIA to kill nameless individuals based on minimal evidence in countries we are not at war with. Traditionally, in tribal areas of Pakistan, most men carry weapons and dress in a way that would make it impossible to differentiate civilians from wanted terrorists.
Drone strikes are not only harmful because of the civilian deaths that they cause. According to tribal officials in Pakistan, civilian casualties are contributing to the radicalization of youth in areas often hit by strikes. And despite increased drone strikes in Yemen, Al-Qaida is thriving in that region. White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan called Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula the group’s “most active operational franchise.”
Overall, these strikes are doing more harm than good. They may be eliminating a few high-level terrorists, but numerous civilian deaths seem to do nothing but create a whole new generation of vengeance seeking militants in Pakistan. Whatever the solution to the United States’ terrorism problem is, it definitely is not drone strikes.
