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MIDEAST: When Drones Become Indiscriminate
By Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM, Jun 30 (IPS) - The concerted effort of international human rights activists to rein in violations
of laws of war was given a major impetus when Human Rights Watch
researchers presented a report Tuesday on the unbridled use by the Israeli
military of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCLAV), commonly known as
drones, during Israel's 22-day assault on Hamas in Gaza at the beginning of the
year.
Entitled 'Precisely Wrong', the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report focuses on
six cases of Israeli drone-launched missile attacks in which 29 Palestinian
civilians, eight of them children, were killed. Based on cross-referenced
eyewitness accounts corroborated by doctors, as well as ballistics and forensic
evidence collected on the attack sites, the report asserts that "in none of the
cases did HRW find evidence that Palestinian fighters were present in the
immediate area of the attack at the time.
"These attacks violated international humanitarian law," the report states in
unequivocal terms, following a ten-day investigation.
Marc Garlasco, senior military analyst at the emergencies programme of HRW,
estimates that at least 87 civilians were killed in 42 drone attacks. "Israel's
targeting choices are unacceptable and unlawful," he declared at a press
conference in East Jerusalem, "especially (considering) that UCLAV provide the
most precise platform in the military arsenal, and that Israel is the world
leader in drone technology."
The report includes technical information about drones and drone-launched
missiles. Israeli drones have advanced sensors, combining radars, electro-
optical and infrared cameras, and lasers providing real time imaging by day
and night. "Those sensors enable a drone operator to determine if a person
on the ground is armed," stressed Garlasco.
In addition to these high-resolution cameras, a missile fired from a drone has
its own cameras that allow the operator to observe the target from the
moment of firing. "If a last-second doubt arises about a target, the operator
can divert the fired missile with a joystick," the report notes.
Everything viewed by the drone operator is recorded. "There is no fog of war
with such drones," Garlasco said. "Yet, the Israeli army failed to distinguish
between military objectives and civilians."
According to Palestinian sources, 900 civilians were killed during the military
operations, among a total of more than 1,400 killed. The HRW report says a
third of the fatalities were from drone-launched missiles. Israeli sources put
the civilian death toll at 300.
"HRW is not against the use of drone in warfare. Its accuracy and
concentrated blast radius can indeed reduce civilian casualties," Garlasco
conceded. But "drones, much like sniper rifles, are only as good at sparing
civilians as the care taken by the people who operate them."
The Israeli army questions the credibility of the HRW investigation. "The
report is based on anonymous Palestinian sources whose knowledge of
military issues is doubtful, who are clearly not impartial observers, and who
are part of the propaganda machine in Gaza," it said in a statement.
"We conducted interviews separate from Hamas activists," counters Garlasco.
"If there were fighters, the interviews were stopped immediately; we just did
not use them."
Garlasco acknowledges that the testimonies collected are limited. "Mistakes
can happen, but here there is a clear pattern - many civilians were killed. It
seems Israeli rules of engagement were very loose - keeping Israeli casualties
to a minimum, valuing the lives of soldiers more than those of Palestinian
civilians."
The report calls on Israel to conduct a "case-by-case investigation" into the
use of drone-launched missiles. "Military or civilian personnel found
responsible for committing or ordering unlawful drone attacks should be
disciplined or prosecuted as appropriate."
"This report has a look to the future," says Garlasco. "It's a cautionary tell to
the U.S. continued use of UCLAV in Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Human rights activists have increasingly voiced their concern over U.S.
reliance on a drone-launched missile attack policy. In a stinging report
submitted earlier this month to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council,
UN special investigator Philip Alston charged that the U.S. has created "zones
of impunity" by rarely investigating private contractors and civilian
intelligence agents involved in the killing of civilians from drone attacks.
Alston urged that an independent special prosecutor be charged with
pursuing criminal allegations against government officials accused of
wrongdoing.
"Even when you're attacking a legitimate military objective, you cannot cause
civilian casualties that exceed the value of a legitimate military attack," says
Garlasco.
Still, the reliance on drone tactics - and the strategic cutting-edge drones
increasingly provide - may surpass the power of human rights in
international forums. Last week, Israel's Channel Two revealed that Israel had
conditioned the sale to Russia of a dozen drones, on Moscow not selling Iran
advanced anti-aircraft missile technology. Iran has sought to deploy the
Russian S300 air defence missile system against a possible Israeli attack on
its nuclear facilities.
Moscow became aware of a need for advanced drones during its war with
Georgia last summer. Georgia operated Israeli-made spy drones, which
proved highly effective. The Russians used a drone of their own without great
success. Russian military officials have made no secret of their intention to
use Israeli models to improve their drone development programme.
(END/2009)
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