Reference no: EM133768102
Assignment:
Case 1- Intention and Discrimination in War
In August 29 2021, the US military killed 10 civilians-seven of which were children-in a botched drone strike. The US military believed it was tracking an ISIS-K terrorist attempting to detonate a bomb near Kabul airport. The target was incorrectly identified, and the pentagon apologised for the mistake although no internal inquiries found no violation of the law and did not recommend any disciplinary action. Find more on New York Times and Considering the Jus ad Bellum condition of Right Intention, the Jus in Bello conditions of Discrimination and Proportionality and the Doctrine of Double Effect,
Read: Frowe, Helen. 2022. 'Chapter: The Moral Status of Terrorism' in The Ethics of War and Peace
Read: Asad, Talal. 2007. 'On Suicide Bombing'. The Arab Studies Journal, 15/16(2/1), 123-130
Question 1- If the target had in fact been as ISIS-K fighter intent on detonating a bomb would the same strike causing 10 civilian deaths have been legitimate?
Case 2- Suicide bombing Read: 'Kashmir attack: Tracing the path that led to Pulwama' 1 May 2019
Question 2: Where you able to understand why Adil Ahmed Dar became a suicide bomber, and how does this case encourage us to reflect on the dominant western assumption that suicide bombing is a uniquely horrifying act?
Case 3- Identifying Terrorism Since 2001, conflict in northwest Pakistan has escalated dramatically, causing significant harm to civilians. The warring parties include militant groups, Pakistani government forces and US military and intelligence agencies. A number of inter-connected militant groups operate in the region, including al-Qaeda, the Quetta Shura, the Haqqani Network, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and Tehrik-i-Nifaz-iShariat-i-Muhammadi (TNSM), amongst many others. The South Asia Terrorism portal has recorded the following breakdown of fatalities in Terrorist Violence in Pakistan from 200-2019. Since 2004, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has targeted militants in northwest Pakistan through air strikes conducted by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported that from June 2004 through mid-September 2012, available data indicate that drone strikes killed 2,562-3,325 people in Pakistan, of whom 474-881 were civilians, including 176 children. During this period drones hovered twenty-four hours a day over communities in northwest Pakistan, striking homes, vehicles, and public spaces without warning. Despite the presence of these drones and their widespread effect on civilian life, investigations suggest that the number of high-level targets killed as a percentage of total casualties is extremely low-estimated at just 2%.
Question 3: Engaging with debates about defining terrorism make a case for whether you think US drone strikes in this region could be considered terrorism.