The unmanned aerial vehicles -also named «drones»- that the CIA is employing against Al-Quaeda in Pakistan are inefficient to prevent new terrorist attacks against Europe and the USA. Nevertheless, drones are likely to keep being employed at the short and medium term since, as CIA’s director states, these vehicles are the only instrument that the USA has to undermine Al-Qaeda and taliban’s leadership and operating capacity in Pakistan.
This is the conclusion exposed in an article recently published in the Newsletters of the Real Instituto Elcano, prepared by a >University of Granada professor and an expert in jihadism Javier Jordán Enamorado. In his article, professor Jordán notes that the campaign launched by the CIA is reducing Al-Qaeda’s troops and is negatively affecting its operating capacity.
The employment of armed drones to undermine Al-Qaeda’s capacity was an option that was already being considered before the 11-S attacks. They started to be operated at the start of the intervention in Afghanistan, although it was Obama’s administration that finally launched drone attacks in Pakistan, which have gained a very significant intensity. This situation is putting the legal and ethical aspects of this strategy into question, while discussion has arisen as to the effectiveness of eliminating enemy leaders, in the light of the poor results obtained in previous experiences against other Al-Qaeda groups.
Lack of reprisals
Professor Jordán stresses «the lack of reprisals from Al-Qaeda in response to CIA’s stategy of eliminating their leaders». Recently, Al-Qaeda has launched only one attack -against the CIA in Khost in December 2009- where they made it clear through a later communiqué that they acted out of a desire for revenge, for their leaders being eliminated by drones.
Javier Jordán notes that, in 2009, the number of attacks by armed unmanned aircraft vehicles was higher than that launched in 2004 and 2008
