America’s overseas drone war program is traumatizing the next generation of children in the Middle East, according to a report by Humans Rights organization Alkarama.
The survey tested for symptoms of PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) among 127 respondents from Yemeni villages, and included those who had lost a direct family member to drone strikes, and those who had not, but lived under drone patrol.
The findings showed that over three-quarters of adult respondents suffered from sleeping problems, constant anxiety, traumatic flashbacks, and intense distress when hearing or thinking about drones.
The positive symptoms rate climbed to 96% among children, with many living in fear of drone strikes killing their parents or family members. Alkarama’s report states that the constant level of fear is degrading the mental integrity of civilians, and amounts to “a gross violation of Yemeni civilians’ basic human rights”.
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The findings of this report run counter to the Obama Administration’s assertions that drone strikes are only undertaken when there is “near-certainty of no collateral damage”.
In 2011, Chief Counterterrorism Advisor John Brennan said there had not been “a single collateral death” in covert US drone strikes since August 2010, due to the “exceptional proficiency and precision” of US targeted killing protocols and rules of engagement.
However, an independent probe by The Bureau of Investigative Journalists shows that the number of civilians killed by US drone strikes was up to six times higher than official civilian casualty lists released by the White House.
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Former Fullbright Fellow and Yemen expert Gregory D. Johnsen argues that in addition to the current human rights violations, America’s drone attacks in Yemen may also defeat America’s long-term strategic goals in the region by radicalizing the civilian population.
Johnsen said drones strikes allow America to target militant leaders, but when a drone kills civilians, “they become a powerful weapon in the hands of AQAP (Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula) that helps the group bolster its ranks with new recruits”.
