Drones - Should they be used ?
The eithics and morality of using such a weapon in war. Is it any different from long range snipers..? I think not..
The Mail on Sunday today reveals shocking new evidence of the full horrific impact of US drone attacks in Pakistan.
A damning dossier assembled from exhaustive research into the strikes’ targets sets out in heartbreaking detail the deaths of teachers, students and Pakistani policemen. It also describes how bereaved relatives are forced to gather their loved ones’ dismembered body parts in the aftermath of strikes.
The dossier has been assembled by human rights lawyer Shahzad Akbar, who works for Pakistan’s Foundation for Fundamental Rights and the British human rights charity Reprieve.
Filed in two separate court cases, it is set to trigger a formal murder investigation by police into the roles of two US officials said to have ordered the strikes. They are Jonathan Banks, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Islamabad station, and John A. Rizzo, the CIA’s former chief lawyer. Mr Akbar and his staff have already gathered further testimony which has yet to be filed.
‘We have statements from a further 82 victims’ families relating to more than 30 drone strikes,’ he said. ‘This is their only hope of justice.’
In the first case, which has already been heard by a court in Islamabad, judgment is expected imminently. If the judge grants Mr Akbar’s petition, an international arrest warrant will be issued via Interpol against the two Americans.
The second case is being heard in the city of Peshawar. In it, Mr Akbar and the families of drone victims who are civilians are seeking a ruling that further strikes in Pakistani airspace should be viewed as ‘acts of war’.
They argue that means the Pakistan Air Force should try to shoot down the drones and that the government should sever diplomatic relations with the US and launch murder inquiries against those responsible.
According to a report last month by academics at Stanford and New York universities, between 2,562 and 3,325 people have been killed since the strikes in Pakistan began in 2004.
The report said of those, up to 881 were civilians, including 176 children. Only 41 people who had died had been confirmed as ‘high-value’ terrorist targets.
Getting at the truth is difficult because the tribal regions along the frontier are closed to journalists. US security officials continue to claim that almost all those killed are militants who use bases in Pakistan to launch attacks on Western forces across the border in Afghanistan.
In his only acknowledgement that the US has ever launched such attacks at all, President Barack Obama said in January: ‘This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans.’
Missile attacks in in Pakistan have had devastating affects, the dossier revealed
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2220828/CIA-chiefs-face-arrest-h...
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
@brit,
The article is about the usage of drones in the war on evil and i was referring to it from a higher perspective. The fact is that US and Allies have already lost 1000's of lives playing fair and by rules, but they have realized and learned that you cannot win unless opposition also play by the rules.
It is impossible to conduct military raids in that hilly area because
1) Doing commando style raids in those areas not possible without unacceptable loss of mil.personel, a simple shoulder launched missile could bring a whole apache killing everyone, so the risks are very high.
2) Mil. raids by foreign army will be seen and exploited the hardliners in PAK politics as an act of aggression on their land and their ideology.
3) Hardliners in the lower ranks of PAK army may revolt and may lead a coup take matter into their own hands.
And could be dozens of other reasons which I may not know
We need to think why US had to resort to using Drones, coz of the fact that PAK refuses to take action on many elements that cross border to kill NATO troops. So without using drones how on earth they will neutralize the those elements, we know that such operations and heavily based on Intel and Intel may not be 100% correct. But let’s accept the facts here, what we discussing is not about story in a fairytale land, the people of that region have chosen the evil and they will have to pay the price for it.
In conclusion US/NATO is adopting a very defensive and effective stand when they are using drones, and they should continue to use them and they will continue to use them. Remember it is what got them Geronimo ;-) They could sent B2s and level the hills, but even still they choose to target only culprits based on the Intel they get. Finally it Is not secret mullas use humans as shields, so unfortunately loss of civilians are part of this exercise.
Everything is fair in love and war.
You are missing the point. The article is not about the war / conflict, but about the use of drones and the heavy loss of civilian life.
It astonishes me that how many folks don’t get the truth.
The truth is a AQ and stone age fan boys of Afgan attacked US homeland and killed 3000 people.
US did NOT respond in the barbaric fashion that AQ or fan boys of Afgan, EVEN though they have every right to retaliate and avenge the killings, instead US/UK choose play by the rules of war , sent ground troops and sacrificed lives of 1000’s of men to selectively capture and kill those who are responsible for it.
US/UK/NATO don’t have stubborn and bold leaders like what they had during WW-II, People in those countries Pakistan and Afghanistan should really thank GOD for that.
If this attack happened 50 years ago, we would now be talking about the economic effectiveness of Nukes and the unparalleled godly power of nukes to wipe out EVIL from the face earth earth.
US president could have declared war on Afghanistan/Pakistan and that would give him absolute authority to order a nuke strike on those countries and SSBNS in the vicinity would deliver a few Tridents and everything would have been over in few mins, Now you are thinking isn’t that enough to create a “world war” ? What will Russia and China do? They will yawn and go back to sleep.
Now I am not a fan boy of US or UK nor their policies, but these are undeniable facts, its high time the world leaders get tough on the EVIL that exits on this earth and its high time we clean EVIL with EVIL power.
In my own opinion, going to court is only legal action but not solution to achieved justice for those civilians died in the attacks. The war against terrorism is already took millions of life but nobody mentioning or planning on how to end terrorism only how to distrtoy terrorists...In mathematical words problem is impossible to solve the problem if you can't understand the root of the problems and so terrorism, why they don't want to know the root caused of the prolem?... it means business?...going against terrorist using sophisticated weapons is not design to minimize terrorism but to add more terrorist.
well i believe that , because when u see you family suffer for no reason, u see pool of blood in your house , wen u see the faces of your happy kids , in white cloth for no reason.... you react .... u want revenge and in that matter whoever is more happy than u become victim... as for drones , thy cannot reach or kill or take revenge from.... so they believe who ever is supporting them should suffer .....
i am not supporting terroists here, for me taking life of any person is haram, and nothing in world can justify the act , but drones are instigating people...
we assume many things when its not happening to us , we can say whats right and whats wrong , but when we are in same circumstances reality , truth and justifications changed
A deeper critique could be made of course of war in general or of this military endeavor in particular but that aside...seems like a straight forward conclusion
P.S. I misspell my nickname on purpose has sentimental value to me
"judgement falls on the person using them"
This is the crux of the matter. Recently a British Brigadier wrote a paper on this topic. Sadly, the controls are lacking and can lead to misuse.
the figures of death toll u have mentioned are official , unofficially its much more than that .
I guess terroists are actually the reaction of drones , or else life in tribal areas is much more peacful .
and even after trials and sentences , i know nothning would be done in this regard , it will be just a story , a study and nothing much.... thy will conitinue to do the same
one could argue about the efficacy and morality of violence...but if one assumes it is permissible in certain circumstances I don't see how drones are any more or less ethical than other forms of warfare in themselves...
they are a tool they cannot be judged as ethical or not in themselves...that judgement falls on the person using them...in this case they are being used primarily to target civilians which is grossly unethical
Own citizen of any country is strongest weapons than drones if working with the enemies.