Drone Wars
As a child I remember being fascinated by the sky to the extent that I set up a UFO club in my Primary School at the age of ten. There were about fifteen members and we would go home and stare at the sky at a set time, for a set period, then report back the next day at school of any mysterious sightings. Imagine being ten years old though, and watching the sky each night, not because you have a club with friends to report to, but because you are aware that at any moment an unmanned aerial vehicle could effectively destroy everything around you. This is the reality of various places targeted by unmanned US drones.
Since 2004 there have been a reported 360 drone strikes in Pakistan alone, leading to the death of between 1590-2740 militants. That equates to 159-274 militant deaths a year. To add to the death toll 258-307 innocent civilians have been killed by unmanned drones, which equates to 29-31 civilian deaths a year, meaning there is a civilian killed for approximately every 5 militant deaths. To put that into context, every 1 in 9 smoking deaths is caused by passive, or second hand, smoke. So, 'secondhand' drone strikes kill more innocent individuals per 'enemy death' than secondhand smoke does per smoking death. An obscenely shocking figure.
*Other reports put the total at 700 civilian deaths, however, over 300 are classed as unknown and it would be unfair to assume as either militant or civilian*
Another surprising aspect is location. Other than Pakistan; Iraq and Afghanistan are somewhat expected - as are Iran - to be targeted by the US military, however, Yemen and Philippines are among other countries that would be less expected as a site for UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) attacks. Yemen was hit in an attempt to kill two Al-Qaeda leaders on two occasions, Phillipines for an Indonesian terrorist. These two countries are not at war with America, begging the question: are Drones really just weapons of war, or are they a killing machine at the beck and call of its operator, regardless of fancy?
Of course, America isn't the only country actively using Unmanned Drones. Argentina, Canada, Spain and Vietnam are just four of a long list of countries pioneering the the technology. The United Kingdom counts itself on that long list also, using and operating UAVs from a selection available. However, America stands out due to its usage of the vehicle for war purposes.
Israel also uses UAVs, most significantly in an attack on the Gaza Strip which resulted in the death of 48 civilians, as reported by The Guardian amongst others.
Obama's administration still holds all the cards with drones though, even to the extent of heavily outweighing the use of such by his predecessor George Bush, who authorised 6 times fewer drone attacks than Obama has, and Obama still has years left on his presidency.
In a world where every innocent individual deserves the right to walk the street without fear of a wayward drone attack, it is shocking that America still ploughs ahead with obliterating any and all enemies with such devices - even to the point where drones are used to kill wanted American citizens in other countries, avoiding any 'tricky' legal loopholes that may be encountered. When the media screams agony from the front page at the death of one local citizen in a tragedy involving thousand, it is even more surreal that these individuals die without so much as a mention outside of their loved ones, left nameless and adrift on the sea of war excuses: 'it's for the greater good', 'necessary evils'.
When a piece of technology is as deeply flawed as UAVs, why is it still in use? Considering the pilots are stationed away from the vehicle, and can fly without the guilt of seeing their victim face-to-face, it adds a video game element to the proceedings, subverting any form of reality in the ensuing deaths.
As for that UFO club of mine, we never did report anything other than the blinking lights of planes as we wished for something else. In Pakistan though, if a child ever does see something unusual in the sky, you can guarantee they will be wishing its just a plane.
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