Pakistani Site: Drones Only Killed One Terrorist in 2010 (If You Don’t Count Taliban)

[tekisui]

Source: Wired

Read one American analysis, and you’ll be told that U.S. drones haven’t killed a single civilian in Pakistan this year. A look through one pair of local eyes yields a very different result, however. According to the website Pakistan Body Count, America’s drones have only hit a single terrorist in 2010, while slaying dozens and dozens of innocents.

Both Pakistan Body Count, run by computer science professor Zeeshan-ul-hassan Usmani, and the Long War Journal, operated by former G.I. Bill Roggio, rely on the same data: local news accounts. But the two sites use startlingly different methodologies to reach their results. Roggio only counts civilian deaths if they’re specifically mentioned in the news stories. Usmani figures that all reported “Taliban” are, in fact, civilians. It’s a questionable assumption, all-but-discounting the possibility of drones hitting home-grown militants. Nevertheless, the site provides a look at how the U.S. drone strikes are perceived in the country where the Hellfire missiles land.

“Literally the Arabic word ‘Talib’ means student, so ‘Taliban’ means students. Almost 100% of the population of areas go to the local Madarasah for their basic education,” he tells Danger Room. “Therefore we can surely categorize every single habitant of these areas as ‘Talibans.’”

Usmani, an American-educated researcher now working at Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, also uses his site to decry the terrorist attacks in his country. “Whether it is a suicide bombing or an attack by a flying drone, for me it’s the same, a Pakistani got killed,” Pakistan Body Count declares on its home page.

But Usmani doesn’t see a connection between the remotely-piloted airstrikes and the explosive vests. “I highly doubt that U.S. drones are doing anything to stop suicide bombing, as it is evident from the data, the number of suicide bombing is almost directly proportional to the drones attacks. More drones, and we have more SB (suicide bomb) attack(s) in our country,” he e-mails.

Read More http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/05/pak-site-drones-only-killed-one-terrorist-in-2010-if-you-dont-count-taliban/#ixzz0oPMCY9HM

[NJmaverick]

1. I don't accept your premise that the Taliban are not terrorists

their use of beheadings, suicide bombers and IEDS aimed at civilians all mark them as terrorists. That being the case your claims are complete and utter nonsense.

[Robb]

2. It's Usmani's premise, in fairness.

I read this earlier today, and yes it's a touch absurd, but I believe he's making a broader point about the cost of war in general, "everyone is someone's son" kind of thing.

I don't believe anyone's foolish enough to buy the "Taliban aren't terrorists" notion, but saying so is a good way to get your arguments heard.

[tekisui]

3. It isn't my claim.

He is saying that everyone labeled Taliban is not a terrorist. Which is most likely true. He is also saying no one label Taliban is a terrorist, which is not very likely.

He is on the opposite end of those who claim no civilians are killed, claiming only civilians are killed. The truth undoubtedly lies somewhere in between. Civilians are killed, and the US government doesn't have any better way to know who was killed than either of these sources.

The drones will hang around after the bombing to count the dead. If it is a woman, they count it as civilian. But, other than that, the CIA doesn't have a reliable way of knowing who they killed.