Drones and death

The planned pull-out of American troops from Afghanistan within the next few days, or even hours, leaves the country and its people in an even more perilous situation than was the case in 1989 when the Soviets pulled out after a 10-year invasion of the country. The US has apparently resumed its policy of drone attacks into Afghanistan, with two drone strikes already conducted. In the first, which took place soon after the twin blasts near Kabul airport, which killed over 90 people including 13 US military personnel, the US claims it killed the IS personnel who had played a role in masterminding the airport attack. There is of course no way of verifying this. The second drone attack on Sunday killed nine civilians, in Kabul, and apparently targeted a car which was laden with explosives and, according to US sources, headed towards Kabul airport. This type of reprisal formed a cornerstone of America’s ‘war on terror’ during the past 20 years, a war which has generated more terror than it has reduced. For American soldiers such blasts may be a flash in the sky but for the victims and their families they leave scars for the rest of their lives. And the lives affected by these strikes are increasing in number. Those who claimed to have come to restore peace are leaving a devastated country that is bracing itself for even more terror.

The situation is still uncertain in Afghanistan, with the Taliban in control but not recognized by any of the major world powers. Even Pakistan is following a policy of wait-and-see as the Taliban install their government. America’s longest war is ending and now there is time to ask some fundamental questions. The first should be about a country’s right to invade another country on flimsy grounds. There was no valid justification for attacking Afghanistan in 2001; as there was no such reason to invade Iraq two years later. If anything, these interventions have killed millions of people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes. Thousands of children are orphans and there is hardly any remorse on the faces of those who inflicted these wars on Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and Yemen. The warlords that the US and its allies claimed to defeat appear to be even stronger and deadlier now than ever before.

The past decades have proved once again that one type of oppression cannot cure another. The abuses that came to light during the allied occupation paved the way for the Taliban returning to rule, with no clarity at all on how – if at all – they have modified themselves. As they have swept across the country, apprehensions are growing, but American drone attacks are not the solution. There are fears of other militant groups becoming active and once again throwing the country into an abyss of terror. The IS suicide attack last week outside the airport killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members. In retaliation, the US has turned to drone strikes once again. Let it be clear that this policy is likely to increase the acrimony and bitterness in this region that has already consumed at least four decades.