Drone is here!
Photo: AFP
A few decades past, it was the age of Cold War and the world was in a constant fear of nuclear war between the US and the then USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic), present Russia. That age was dominated by the development of nuclear bomb, ICBM (Inter Continental Ballistic Missile), SLBM (Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile) and so forth. The Cold War came to an end in the nineties of the last century with the demise of USSR. Now we are living in a multi-polar world, arguably uni-polar with the US in the centre. Probably with the demise of USSR, we not only left behind the age of nuclear bomb or ICBM, SLBM, but also we have entered in a new age of armament- the age of drone. According to recent research by International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) there are at least eleven countries that have their own drones while more countries are trying to develop their own version of it. More concern for us that our neighbour India has, as it is known, thirty drones. The unscrupulous and indiscriminate use of drone makes it enough to be worried about our country's national security and of course, security of individuals. Let us look at the short history of drone. Drone is the innovation of the US. The CIA and Pentagon first wanted to have it in the early 1980s, for reconnaissance. In the nineties of the last century, the US publicly unveiled the drone. When President George W Bush declared a "War on Terror" 11 years ago, the Pentagon had fewer than 50 drones. Now, it has around 7500 drones. But according to the IISS data it has at least 678 drones in service. Following 2001, the RQ-1 Predator became the primary unmanned aircraft used for offensive operations by the USAF and the CIA in Afghanistan and the Pakistani tribal areas. The US rarely discusses the top-secret drone programme. This is, absolutely, humiliating for any country to be under the attacks of drone which Pakistan and Somalia have been experiencing for years. In the name of war against terrorism, in other words pulling up al-Qaida, the US killed thousands of Pakistani civilians. The US government justifies its drone strikes by the argument that it is at war with al-Qaeda and its affiliates. One could imagine that India in the not too distant future might launch such attacks against suspected terrorists in Kashmir or in neighboring countries. China might strike Uighur separatists in western China, or Iran might attack Baluchi nationalists along its border with Pakistan. China has already expressed its interest to use drone to vigil the activities of Japan in South China Sea. The more time is progressing the more the desire to exercise on own drone by new states is increasing. This is why the concern of drone related insecurities is increasing. Recent report says that drone makers are trying to swell their commercial destinations. They are diversifying the types of drone productions to attract wide range of consumers. Those days are not far away when one may book a drone on amazone.com. So, non-state actors like terrorist groups, drug cartels may have it as there is lack of any regulation regarding the sell and production of drone, so far. Drone needs to be taken as a similar concern as was taken for chemical and biological weapons. Because this is no less heinous, this is called 'predator.'
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