Defence Talk- Drones at war

Photo Courtesy: drone attack
DRONES, ALSO termed Unmanned Combat Vehicles or Remotely Piloted Vehicles, have been identified as force multipliers since their successful employment in the 1991 Gulf War. It is, however, the “arbitrary” Bush legacy (June 2008) of trans-border Predator drone usage by the CIA — for taking out Al Qaeda/Taliban terrorists operating within the Pakistani side of the Afghan-Pak border — that has added a new dimension to their war against terror, besides throwing up issues of ethics and diplomatic propriety. The latest drone attack occurred on February 14, 2009, when 25 Mujahideen owing allegiance to Baitullah Mehsud, the Taliban chief in Pakistan, were killed in a Predator strike in Shwangai, South Waziristan. The attack came even as the Pakistani President acknowledged that the Taliban were “making the survival of Pakistan” difficult. On the same day, Dianne Feinstein, chairperson, Senate Intelligence Committee, revealed that the Predator aircraft were being flown from an airbase inside Pakistan. The unintended disclosure, a diplomatic gaffe that Presidents Obama and Zardari could do without, has seriously jeopardised Pakistan’s counterterrorism collaboration with America.
As per the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington, American drones have, since June 2008, carried out more than 30 missile attacks against Al Qaeda and Taliban targets. Already , civilian casualties in Afghanistan and areas of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan have climbed from 929 in 2006 to almost 2,000 in 2008, from the US-led air attacks. Some are attributable to Predator strikes and have given adverse publicity to both American and Pakistani governments. On January 13, 2006, several US Predators struck Damadola village in Pakistan where Ayman al-Zawahiri was reportedly located, killing 18 civilians. On October 30, 2006, the Bajaur air strike, targeted a militant training camp and Zawahiri. Although he escaped, 85 villagers died.

Analysts are debating whether such attacks, which unilaterally transgress national borders, should continue. Supporters say they are useful against an enemy carrying out Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW); a warfare characterised by a blurring of lines between war and politics, soldier and civilian, battlefield and safety!

Maj Gen Raj Mehta (Retd)
The writer, who is settled in S.A.S. Nagar, is a security analyst
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Terror: Army calls off Poonch operation after eight days

Photos courtesy BSFPress Trust Of India
Poonch, January 09, 2009

The security forces late on Thursday night called off its operation against militants who were holed up in caves inside a dense jungle of Jammu and Kashmir's Bhati Dhar near the LoC for eight days and said the ultras may have slipped out.

"The operation has been called off. The possibility of militants having escaped cannot be ruled out", said Defence Spokesman S N Acharya capping the futile search for the militants whom the security forces had engaged in a battle.

The encounter, which has been going on since January 1, has claimed the lives of four militants and three security personnel including a Junior Commissioned Officer.

Army calls off Poonch operation after eight days

Tailpiece:
Intercepts available with the security forces suggested that there were about ten militants, some of them top commanders of Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Lashkar-e-Taiba. One wonders if they are the same outfit who carried out the Mumbai Mayhem? Certainly we ought to be trained to outsmart the Terror Outfits by superior tactics and technology!