Photo: Supporters of a Pakistani religious group 'Tanzeem-e-Islami' hold a rally against the suspected U.S. drone missile strike on the country's tribal areas, Wednesday, April 8, 2009 in Karachi, Pakistan. Pakistan has criticized the drone strikes, saying they are a violation of the country's sovereignty and kill innocent civilians. The government has said such deaths generate sympathy for the militants. But the U.S. believes the attacks are an effective tool to combat militants in the region. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil)


Reports of drone attacks in Pakistan are so common now that few in the US bother to take note except to read the headline. With only a few notable exceptions, Americans are almost completely indifferent to the use of these weapons, even though it is quite clear that they often result in the indiscriminate killing of civilians.

"The United States has carried out about 45 drone air strikes since the beginning of last year, most since September, killing about 424 people, including many foreign militants, according to a tally of reports from Pakistani intelligence agents, district government officials and residents." Source: Reuters

US military advisors citing Pakistani data put the estimate of the number killed at closer to 700 over the last three years. The number of terrorists killed is about 14, implying that approximately 50 civilians are slaughtered for each terrorist killed. This is a 2% effectiveness rate. Thus, the principal reason for using these weapons is to avoid US casualties. Let me be blunt: this is cowardly and it is criminal.

Undoubtedly there will be attempts to justify the use of these weapons as the only alternative in a situation where the host country is unwilling to act against terrorists and officially unwilling to tolerate foreign troops on their soil.

However, one need only imagine a soldier who killed 50 civilians for each enemy combatant per mission. Would such a soldier be permitted to continue? I doubt it. It is more likely that the soldier would face a military court. Of course, this is precisely why drones are favored by the military. The idea of mechanization provides the illusion of a lack of agency and accountability.

If the US is serious about changing tactics to protect civilians, then armed drones should be completely banned from the war.

Labels: afghanistan, drone, south asia, us