THE WAR OF DRONES
by Pervez Hoodbhoy, Dawn, Sunday, March 9, 2008
Drones, machine and human, have drenched
These lethal engines of destruction, programmed by remote handlers, are very
different. But neither asks why it must kill, nor cares about the death and
suffering it causes.
On Jan 13, 2006, a bevy of MQ-1Bs hovering over Damadola
launched a barrage of ten Hellfire missiles at the village below. They blew up
18 local people, including five women and five children. Such cold statistics
say nothing about the smashed lives of the survivors, or the grief of the
bereaved. The blame was put on faulty local intelligence.
Then, on Oct 30, 2006, a Hellfire missile hit a madressah
in Bajaur killing between 80-85 people, mostly
students. Even if those killed were allegedly training to become Al Qaeda
militants, and even if a few key Al Qaeda leaders such as Abu Laith al-Libi have been
eliminated, the more usual outcome has been flattened houses, dead and maimed
children, and a growing local population that seeks revenge against
The human drone has left a far bloodier trail across Pakistani cities. From six
suicide attacks in 2006, the tally went up to 62 in 2007. According to the
It is possible to imagine how an American soldier or CIA operative controlling
a Predator drone can distance himself from the death and destruction it causes
in a remote country on the other side of the world that they imagine is full of
enemies. For them, it is a job and a way to defend their country. What is
harder to understand is how the Pakistani suicide bomber can kill people who are
so close to him in so many ways.
A spine-chilling suicide bomber training video, one of the several videos that
freely circulate in
The camera cuts to the body lying on blood-soaked ground. It slowly pans over
the faces of the other masked fighters. Their eyes betray no emotion. A second
signal from the leader, and they trot military-style to the body, dig a shallow
grave, toss their dead comrade into it, and cover it up. Then, amazingly, they
march over the grave several times, chanting Quranic
verses. This is astonishing, because to trample a grave is the ultimate mark of
disrespect in a Muslim culture.
Why sacrifice a human life for a few minutes of footage? English sub-titles
reveal that this is obviously a propaganda video. Its message: the group's
fighters have overcome the fear of death, and have willingly surrendered their
lives to the group leader, and their individual powers to reason and decide.
As troubling as the murders is the response of Pakistanis. While the murder of
innocents by the MQ-1B has rightly led to condemnation in
On the other hand, implicit justifications abound. In January 2008, 30 leading Deobandi religious scholars, while declaring suicide
attacks 'haram', rationalised
these as a reaction to the government's misguided
polices in the tribal areas. They concluded that "a peaceful demand for
implementing Shariah was not only rejected but the
government was also not willing to give ear to any reasoning based on the Quran and Sunnah in support of
the Shariah demand. Apparently, these circumstances
led some minds to the frustration that manifested itself in suicide
attacks."
What are these ulema telling us? That we should adopt
the Shariah to avoid being attacked? This amounts to
encouragement and incitement, not condemnation of the suicide bombers'
actions. But even civil society activists, who have bravely protested against
the dismissal of the Chief Justice by Gen Musharraf,
have not held any street protests against these ghastly crimes.
Why do so many Pakistanis who should know better suddenly lose their voice when it comes
to condemning suicide bombings? Is it because the bomber kills in the name of
Islam? Are people muted in their criticism lest they be regarded as irreligious
or even blasphemous?
Or, is the silence political? Many choose to believe that the suicide bomber is
a consequence of
It is true that suicide bombings were a rarity in
Even
with evidence staring them in the face, most Pakistanis seem locked into a
state of denial. They refuse to accept the obvious fact that more and more
mullahs have created cults around themselves and exercise control over the
lives of worshippers. An enabling environment of poverty, deprivation, lack of
justice, and extreme differences of wealth is perfect for demagogues.
As the mullah's indoctrination gains strength, the power to reason weakens. The
world of the follower becomes increasingly divided into absolute good and
absolute evil. Doubt is replaced by certainty, moral sensibilities are blunted.
Reduced to a mere instrument for murder, the bomber-to-be is left with no room
for useless things such as judgment, doubt, or conscience. As other human
beings become mere objects rather than people deserving of love and compassion,
the metamorphosis from human to drone becomes complete.
The last thoughts of a suicide bomber cannot be known, but remorse or doubt is
unlikely. There is no lower depth to which humans can fall to. Except, perhaps,
those who control them - and towards whom we still dare not point a finger at.
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The writer teaches physics at