Deadly business
We wonder if the US and those who determine policy in its capital have understanding of the impact of drone attacks.
Just as relations between Pakistan and the US appeared to be moving back to an even keel after months of tension over the Raymond Davis affair, the most lethal drone strike in weeks, carried out in the Datta Khel tehsil of North Wazirisan, has injected new anger into the relationship between the two allies. Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership have reacted with predictable anger to the strike that killed between 30 to 40 people during a tribal jirga between the elders of two tribes. According to reports, drones that moved into Pakistan from Afghanistan were chasing a vehicle which was moving towards the gathering. Local people say many of those killed were civilians, including children.
We wonder if the US and those who determine policy in its capital have any understanding of the impact of these drone attacks. The prime minister has once more attempted to bring the reality home to officials in Washington, asserting that drone attacks add to hatred for the US. This hatred could mean an increase in the targeting of Nato forces in Afghanistan. It is assumed the US focus on North Waziristan, with 120 of 127 drone attacks over the last year raining down on that region, are aimed at the militant groups they believe are responsible for attacks on Nato forces. But they could well act as a red cloth waved before a bull, encouraging it to attack with more ferocity and venom.
The drone strikes also badly undermine the position of the Pakistan government. Its inability to stop them only add to perceptions about its unequal relationship with the US. This, too, does not suit either country. The militancy, which has most adversely affected Pakistan and its people, is largely driven on by feelings against the US. These are at a particular high following the Davis release. The time has come for rationality to prevail; for respect to be shown for the lives of Pakistani people; and for the drone attacks to end, as a means to defeating the militant menace which is bolstered by each wave of death delivered by the drones.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.
We wonder if the US and those who determine policy in its capital have any understanding of the impact of these drone attacks. The prime minister has once more attempted to bring the reality home to officials in Washington, asserting that drone attacks add to hatred for the US. This hatred could mean an increase in the targeting of Nato forces in Afghanistan. It is assumed the US focus on North Waziristan, with 120 of 127 drone attacks over the last year raining down on that region, are aimed at the militant groups they believe are responsible for attacks on Nato forces. But they could well act as a red cloth waved before a bull, encouraging it to attack with more ferocity and venom.
The drone strikes also badly undermine the position of the Pakistan government. Its inability to stop them only add to perceptions about its unequal relationship with the US. This, too, does not suit either country. The militancy, which has most adversely affected Pakistan and its people, is largely driven on by feelings against the US. These are at a particular high following the Davis release. The time has come for rationality to prevail; for respect to be shown for the lives of Pakistani people; and for the drone attacks to end, as a means to defeating the militant menace which is bolstered by each wave of death delivered by the drones.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.