Drone Bombings in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas: Public Remote Sensing Applications for Security Monitoring

Abstract

Drone bombing, as a US defense strategy in Pakistan, began under the George W. Bush administration as part of the "US War on Terrorism" and has accelerated under the Obama administration. The United States government has not confirmed the use of drones in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. We identify the region within the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with the highest incidence of drone bombing activity and use QuickBird imagery to identify evidence of drone bombing damage. The city of Miram Shah in North Waziristan had the highest incidence of drone bombings before January 1, 2010. A systematic research in 1 km 2 grids over the city of Miram Shah revealed potential damage of a drone bombing at one site, recent damage at one site, and an image of a drone over the landscape. Results suggest that drone bombings are very accurate and drone missions are common in the region. It is possible for the public to monitor drone bombings and other quality of life indicators in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The use of drones to monitor and attack enemy locations will most likely expand in the future.

Dangereusement drones : l’« Af-Pak » comme architecture d’un régime gouvernemental optique biopolitique

“…En effet, la grande majorité des cibles jugées de haute valeur parmi le commandement de l'adversaire (chez les Talibans et le réseau Al-Qaïda) se trouvent déjà de l'autre côté de la frontière afghane. Les zones tribales entre ce pays et le Pakistan voisin agissent effectivement comme sanctuaires, assurant la récupération et la reconstitution de forces, afin de pouvoir passer de nouveau à l'offensive de l'autre côté de la frontière (Hammes, 2006 ;Laygo et al, 2012).…”