A war we have seen before

You’ve certainly heard about drones; however, you may not know the extent to which they are being used.

After the American invasion of Afghanistan, much of the Taliban hierarchy fled across the Pakistani border, primarily into the Waziristan region. The United States under two Presidents has been operating drone missions in Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen as part of the War on Terror.

photo taken from teeth.com.pk

The details of the U.S. campaign against militants in Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia remains shrouded in secrecy. The American drone programme has accelerated enormously under the Obama administration and has achieved success in wiping out large sections of the Al-Qaeda leadership. These strategic victories have come at considerable “collateral” costs (read civilian deaths) and arguably the strategy is fomenting resentment amongst the broader Pakistani population.

This strategic bombing campaign, carried out in a country the United States is not at war with, is resonant with another American military folly. During the Vietnam War, the US Air Force carpet-bombed Laos and Cambodia, both of whose official governments were supposedly American allies (much like Yemen and Pakistan are today; Somalia has no real government to speak of).

It has been reported that Laos was hit by an average of one B‑52 bomb load every eight minutes, 24 hours a day, between 1964 and 1973. The targets of these attacks were sanctuaries and Base Areas for the forces of the Vietcong. U.S. bombers dropped more ordnance on Laos in this period than was dropped during the whole of the World War II. Of the 260 million bombs that rained down, some 80 million failed to explode, leaving a deadly legacy. Laos remains the most heavily bombed country, per capita, in the world.

Laos, 1983. An intensive bombing campaign, coupled with artillery battles on land, has left the landscape in some areas of Laos filled with craters. Photo: Titus Peachey

The results of the attacks themselves are still debated among participants and historians. As for preventing further North Vietnamese offensives, they failed.

Jump back to today and we see a very similar scenario unfolding through the drone strikes.

Casualty Estimates CIA

Drone Strikes in Pakistan 2004–2013 

Total US strikes: 364
Obama strikes: 312
Total reported killed: 2,534-3,573
Civilians reported killed: 411-884
Children reported killed: 168-197
Total reported injured: 1,172-1,463

US Covert Action in Yemen 2002–2013

Confirmed US drone strikes: 42-52
Total reported killed: 226-321
Civilians reported killed: 12-45
Children reported killed: 2
Reported injured: 60-142

Possible extra US drone strikes: 77-93
Total reported killed: 276-425
Civilians reported killed: 23-46
Children reported killed: 9-10
Reported injured: 75-96

All other US covert operations: 12-76
Total reported killed: 148-366
Civilians reported killed: 60-87
Children reported killed: 25
Reported injured: 22-111

 US Covert Action in Somalia 2007–2013

Total US strikes: 10-23
Total US drone strikes: 3-9
Total reported killed: 58-170
Civilians reported killed: 11-57
Children reported killed: 1-3

(http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/)

 The White House argues that the right to self-defense provides sound legal basis for targeting individuals affiliated with Al Qaeda or “associated forces”, even outside Afghanistan. This can include U.S. citizens.  In Yemen and Somalia, there is debate about whether the militants targeted by the U.S. are in fact plotting against the U.S. or instead fighting against their own country. Can we accept that this is necessary to stop the “bad guys”?

What forms the “due process” that is applied to choosing targets hasn’t been detailed. And the US government has not been forthcoming on how extraneous factors such as the likelihood of child deaths affect the decision making process.

Do not get me wrong the relative decline of Al-Qaeda should not be devalued. Drone strikes have taken affect by crippling the group’s leadership. These strikes may have prevented bloody streets in the Western world.

However, the exchange of innocent civilian lives in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia for potential civilian lives in the West is an unfair one. It is a continuation of previous American militarism that has failed to shift the power dynamic and resulted in dead bodies and broken lives.

General Stanley McChrystal, who led the military in Afghanistan, noted “The resentment created by American use of unmanned strikes ... is much greater than the average American appreciates. They are hated on a visceral level, even by people who've never seen one or seen the effects of one.”

Alternatives to this type of force?

Malala Yousafzai represents the greatest weapon I have seen in the conflict with extremist groups; maybe that is where we should be fighting our battles.

note: A number of groups are tracking strikes and estimating casualties:

The Long War Journal covers Pakistan and Yemen.

The New America Foundation covers Pakistan.

The London Bureau of Investigative Journalism covers Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan, as well as statistics from on drone strikes carried out in Afghanistan.