Drone Strikes and Their Effectiveness

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INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS DRONE STRIKES AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS Table of Contents: • Introduction  Question  Hypothesis  Drones: An Introduction  Literature Review • Body  Main Body  Drones: The Success  International Perspective  National Perspective • Conclusion Introduction The drones all slave away, they're working overtime. They serve a faceless queen, they never question why. Disciples of a God, they neither live nor breathe. Drones are an effective counter insurgency tool deployed extensively throughout the world, especially by clandestine intelligence organizations often with the help of the country’s respective Air Force. Not only do they serve as an effective weapon, they minimize human risk. This paper aims to establish this very fact despite the drone’s reputation as a means of violating a nation’s sovereignty and resulting in the loss of precious civilian lives. Question How effective are drones in the war against militancy? Hypothesis “Drone strikes, despite their infamous reputation, are an essential and effective tool in today’s counter-insurgency operations throughout the world, particularly in Pakistan.” Drones: An Introduction An unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV is commonly known as a drone. It is an aircraft operated by a human pilot operating remotely through computers on ground or from another vehicle. The traditional deployment of a drone is military and special services operations, but it is now increasingly being deployed for civil applications, such as policing, spraying pesticides and firefighting as well. Drones provide a useful alternative to traditional aircraft. They are cost effective to operate. They are relatively slower making reconnaissance and achi... ... middle of paper ... ...oyed there by the respective governments which goes on to show how these governments support the drone program. The secrecy that shrouds the whole process serves to establish a negative view of the strikes. Transparency will serve to clear the misunderstood concept amongst the general populace, but that is not possible in the interest of safeguarding national secrets according to officials working for the military. Transparency in the process or national interests being exposed, that is another debate, beyond the scope of this paper. This paper attempts to answer the questions, “How effective are drones in the war against militancy?” And as a conclusion, draws the following statement: Drone strikes, despite their infamous reputation, are an essential and effective tool in today’s counter-insurgency operations throughout the world, particularly in Pakistan.

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